Back in the USA and back into the show ring! Storey and Robin arrived in Ohio in mid-January. The litter of Aussie pups arrived just ahead of the New Year. The boy-pup, Track, will be staying on at Black Rock.
As spring finally takes hold across the country, May seems like the right time to make a show circuit from east to west and back again. The only dog really ready to actually show is Sijan. He needs 5 points and a major to finish his championship, but a long road trip is good training time so the two youngsters -- BC pup Papaya, and Track will ride along to socialize and learn the camping routine.
April 20 Terra Houte shows -- 4 days
April 28 & 29 Ft. St. Clair shows
May 5-8 St Louis Purina Farms shows -- 3 days
May 12 & 13 Albuquerque shows
May 24-29 LA Mission circuit - 5 days
Then home -- with a new champion?
The results:
A major for three points on Sijan in Terra Haute. And then nothing but adventure. First there was the tire blow out on the car on I-44 barely past Purina Farms. We had driven through the rubble of a just-happened accident and no doubt picked up some debris. Less than five miles down the road and following a big puff of black smoke the trailer began swinging wildly. I pulled over and spent an hour sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck to come and change out the tire. The blown-tire lug nuts were on so tightly I could not loosen them. That done, on to NM where I spent a week seeing friends.
Met up with friend-Robyn in California after I left NM. We split up dogs since she needed to transport her entire kennel and I had a bitch in season and two boy dogs. So I drove to LA with 7 bitches. Only one flat tire on the way, on the trailer, and not nearly as exciting as the blow out on I-44. Robyn arrived a couple days later with I don't remember how many dogs jammed into her car. But among the group were 6 howling puppies. Howling as in the entire drive across the mojave was made with those sound effects! So, with something like 15 dogs in our camp we set about caring for the pack and showing for the 5 days of the Miserable Mission circuit. Miserable in that we were parked on asphalt and had no running water. Hard to clean up after pooping pppies that way. I'll just let your minds and imagination take you through having 6 howling puppies pooping on asphalt in the California sun..... Sweeeeeet!
The only highlight to mention from the entire Mission circuit occured before the circuit officially started. I showed Coconutty in the Bred by class at the Border Collie specialty. She won the class under British judge Ross Green.
The shows over, we moved the pack to March AFB a bit south in Riverside. Lovely set up. Very relaxing for the first day and night. Maybe even the second, but on returning from a shopping trip there was an eviction notice posted on the camper door. No specific rules broken, but the manager said she personally counted 9 dogs. man, I'll bet she took math in a public school or something because we had 14 dogs with us.
Anyway, we packed up and headed north and a touch east to Edwards AFB. Only made it through the first night there. Seems they have rules about how many shade tarps you can have -- not how many dogs, that wasn't the problem. But I was told to take down the two extra shade tarps I put up in the nearly 100 degree heat. I said no. The Famcamp manager called the security police. Very nice guys. They gave me a "lawful order" and three hours to
comply. I didn't hit him, argue, or anything like that. But I sure as hell took my sweet time packing up.
Robyn split at that point and took her howling pupy pack with her to her mother's house a bit farther north of Edwards. I had about had it with all the love from the Golden State and had resolved to drive back to Tucson. But I called Misty on the way down through the mountains between Edwards AFB and LA and she convinced me to stop over at a KOA where, less 8 dogs or so, no puppies in sight, and no howling to be heard, I might not be an eviction-target.
So I did. We have had a very nice day today. The dog show stilll sucked, but we are roasting marshmallows, washing dogs, Ricky is doing homework and all is right in my world.
The summer passed without any more excitement to report other than a last breeding for Dame and Pacifico. She's now six years old and he is 10. The timing was just right for an early fall litter. The pups were born the day after Labor Day and were whelped and raised in Nevada by my sister Misty. There were two stunning blues that begged for show homes until their bites went off and they became beloved pets in Las Vegas and New York. Misty kept the black tri female, BonnieLass, for her carry-on girl, although quite often it seems she is tempted to sell the yappy young bitch to the first sucker who will take her.
Sadly, we said goodbye to our oldest dog this year. Rocky, 14, was given sleep in October. He was a great dog.
In early December Mango's youngest daughter, Papaya, quite suddenly found a fabulous home back in New Mexico, where she is an only dog and has two cats to amuse and torture and vice versa. The opportunity came about rather quickly. Papaya was on vacation with Mango and me down in Florida at Disney World. When word came that Papaya was to catch a plane, Atlanta was the nearest airport. As the vacation time ended and I drove north into a whopper of a snowstorm shutting down the midwest and northeast, shipping from Atlanta had a touch of brilliance! Only one tire blow out on the trailer this time....
There are no plans for litters at Blackrock in 2008. Mango will ship to her co-owner's house in March and be bred with her last litter there (Mango is also six now). The lucky guy is a wonderful Australian import. Given Mango's habit of throwing blue pups and the young man's ability to produce red pups, this could be a really colorful litter!
Coconutty, and perhaps Gaza, will go to the March '08 shows in Louisville, KY, but that's as far down the calendar as anything is scheduled.
Merry Christmas to all and the happiest of New Years.
