The Dog Show

As many of you know, I was not exactly happy with the results of the dog show. I was, however, very happy with how Anneliese performed, and I felt very much at one with her as we walked the ring. She was a real pro and I have only good things to say about her.

Anneliese is a beauty. In my opinion she deserved better than she got, but then, politics has a lot to do with the actual scoring at many of these events. It was the first time this had happened to me and so it caught me off guard. I think I am still recovering. In fact I know I am. I feel slightly disillusioned and disappointed.

I’m grateful that I don’t have to show any more dogs. I will always be a dog owner. But I do not believe I will stay in the show ring. I simply cannot take the unfairness of the judging, or the politics behind it. A dog should be judged on their own merits.

Was Anneliese the best and most beautiful at the show? Probably not, but she did meet all the standards and should have been judged fairly.

It still hurts that she wasn’t.

Upstate New York

On our way home from the Zuchtschau, Barbie and I took Anneliese to visit her Grandmother. Asta is owned by Jurgen and Lore and they invited Barbie and I to spend the night with them on Sunday.

It was raining cats and dogs as we drove along the country roads of upstate New York. We could see almost nothing. The GPS did the navigation, and we pulled into their driveway just after 1 o’clock.

Jurgen and Lore’s home is truly a sanctuary for all the animals of the wild, including the most wonderful herd of deer. I found myself sitting in front of the picture windows snapping picture after picture of those precious beasts.

Anneliese got to meet her grandmother, Asta, and she also got to rest. Barbie, Anneliese and myself were all feeling a bit weary after the Zuchtschau and Lore and Jurgen’s home was so warm and welcoming to us.

That night I climbed into the large and comfortable queen sized bed and sank into the softness of the down comforter. I slept as though I hadn’t slept in years. A true respite from the world.

The leaves were just changing and the next day as we drove home from there we oohed and aaahed at the beauty around us.

Happy Birthday, Dearest Uschi

Today is the birthday of my best friend, Uschi. I cannot begin to explain how special she is, or how important she is to me. I love her like a sister and I am so grateful that the good Lord brought us together! How else can you explain a woman in New Hampshire and another in Germany finding each other in this big, big world?

So Happy Birthday, dearest Uschi and many, many more!!!

Home

Anneliese and I arrived home at 5:15 this afternoon. A little tired and a little road weary, but home, safe and sound.

Hubby, Fritz, Greta and Arnie met us in the driveway with a great deal happiness, and Anneliese and I were happy to see them too.

Sometimes it just feels good to be home.

Sehr Gut

Anneliese was the third dog presented on Saturday morning to the German Judge. She was a bit nervous, but I felt she was doing very well. My first indication that perhaps all was not well was when I heard words like, not correct, gaiting too close, and my heart began to sink.

However the judge also indicated that she was a beautiful, well proportioned female dog with excellent rough fur and a beautiful head. By all appearances she was an excellent dog.

But in the end it was the way she walked that gave her two demerits and brought her score from a perfect Excellent to a Very Good or in German Sehr Gut.

This means that she is in a good dog, eligible to breed, but not perfect.

Am I a little disappointed? Yes, a little. I’d hoped that she would score as an Excellent dog the way her mother, father and her brother had before her.

Then after the show I sat down with the judge and we had a long talk about Anneliese and he explained that she is special and should be bred. He said that she is beautiful, and her errors could more than likely be trained out of her. Was it that important? If it was, then I should work on it and try again next year. If not, then allow her to breed after her birthday in December and look for a male that can compliment her. He wanted me to know that she has a spark of beauty that should not be ignored.

I’m not sure what I will do, but for now I know that no matter what she will always be Excellent in my eyes!

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Anneliese being judged.

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Anneliese kissing up to the judge.

We’re Here

(Saturday Scavenger Photo is below)

Despite the rain that dogged our drive yesterday, we arrived in Reinholds, Pennsylvania right on schedule. Anneliese made the trip like an old pro, and got settled in last night pretty easily. She did not stay down though and awakened me at 3 AM for a walk in the night. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining.

I’m dressing now and we will leave in a little bit for the show. More to come!

Time……

Okay, who stole the summer?

I was walking Emily back up to her house tonight and the air was cool and crisp and as the sun was setting, I noticed bright red leaves had fallen under my feet.

It’s Autumn. It’s really Autumn, and soon the winds will blow and the snow will fall and it will be WINTER!

When I was a little girl I remember thinking that each day was an eternity long. Each year, between birthdays seemed endless. I thought I would never grow up, never have a drivers license or get married and have children. I was going to be forever in first grade!

The time did pass and little by little these things all happened. I got my license, got married, had 2 beautiful children, and the days passed me by. Still, back in my twenties I felt that time was still going rather slowly.

Then one day I woke up and bam, I’m 49 years old! The year between 49 and 50 has flown by and soon it’s going to be winter and I’ll be 50!

So what happened? Does the world just start to spin faster the older you get?

Meanwhile, as I contemplate the time and space continuum, I remind you all once again that we leave tomorrow for the German Dog Show, also known as a Zuchtschau.

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Anneliese is packed and ready to go. I’ll be writing on Saturday night to report in on how things went.

The Incredible Shrinking Woman!

I’ve been consciously working each and every day to get to my goal at Weigh Watchers. Most recently I decided to watch my carbs a bit more and eat more fruit for the same number of points. I’ve been rewarded by two weeks with very good weight losses. Last week I was down 1.2 pounds and today, 2.2. What does this mean? It means I have just 4 pounds to go to my goal weight!!!

I’m pretty happy about this. That is probably a great understatement. You see a year ago I was really unhappy at the weight I was. I didn’t like the fact that my clothes were tight (and getting tighter) and my cheeks looked very much like a chipmunk! I also didn’t feel well. I had no energy and felt quite lethargic.

I’d thought about Weight Watchers for a while, but I felt like if I failed at one more thing, I would have a melt down.

Christmas came and New Years was on the way, so I looked up where the closest meeting was and I planned. Right after New Years I was going to go. I was also not going to miss a meeting unless I was in Intensive Care! And I haven’t missed one meeting.

It has not always been easy, and I have had weeks when I did everything right and didn’t lose an ounce! However, I kept going and I didn’t give up.

Now it is so close. My goal weight. The weight I have wanted to be for the longest time. It’s really happening!

I am the Incredible Shrinking Woman!!!

Wag, Wag, Wag!

Greta went for a ride today. She’s been such a good girl lately and she really does love to go in the car, so when I went to get the mail today I brought her along.

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She stood tall in the passenger seat with her front paws on the arm rest as we drove up the drive, watching the trees go by and feeling happy, wag, wag, wag. Eventually she sat down and looked out the front window as I drove along.

I brought her leash and this afforded Greta the opportunity to go into the Post Office with me and say hello. Wag, wag, wag!

She saw many people along the way who greeted her with smiles and ooohs and ahhhhs! She is such a friendly girl that she allowed them all to pat her.

She is really funny. She has such confidence and is so sure of herself that I just don’t worry at all about taking her with me.

I wouldn’t even think about taking Fritz. Oh he’d love to go, but the boy is too nervous and would be knocking down the little old ladies and men as they tried to get their mail.

Greta and I also stopped at a local Craftsman’s Shop. They love her and the pups there and I try to stop often and update them on the doggy happenings. After visiting a few minutes I was happy to leave because…Greta is heavy and I was carrying her!!!

When we returned home my little girl got to spend the afternoon with her Daddy as he picked apples off of a few of the trees. Her tail started wagging in the morning and just never stopped all day, as this was a perfect day for her!

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She’s now collapsed on the floor, exhausted from her busy day, but very, very happy!

Wag, wag, wag!!!