Happy 13th, Uncle Gizmo!

Photo by Emily Rose

It's PARTY time!

He's officially a teenager now! I hope this is not the beginning of back-talk and rebellious behavior. Oh wait, Gizmo's always been a back-talker and trouble seems to find him no matter where he is! Love you Gizmo! Life would be very boring without you. :-)

Gizmo got Sonic ice cream treats after breakfast this morning, and the nice people at Sonic gave us enough to share with the rest of the family. Everydoggie LOVES their Sonic ice cream treat!

If any of our doggie friends DON'T live near a Sonic, then we are very, very sorry. Please ask your parents to move as soon as possible so you can share in the Sonic treats!


And the winner of the "Oh My Dog, this is the BEST stuff ever Giant Eyes Award" goes to....

CARLY!

*Editor's Note: Nick was unable to partake in the ice cream sharing party this morning because, when he initially arrived at the party, he tried to gulp the ice cream and the styrofoam cup all together in one bite...

Signs of Summer!

Notice the out of control tall-grass prairie in the yard from the over 8 inches of rain in April!

Maybe it's not officially here, but we've had a few days that actually feel like summer. Just some fun shots on a nice, sunny afternoon. Giz showing off his "summer cut." I know, it always looks like a chop shop haircut that first week or so, but he's got a lot of extra skin, and he can't stand too long on the table, so we just get the necessary fur off, and he's good to go. I love watching him after his summer cut, because he runs around and acts so much like a puppy.

Uh-oh, this is a new development in the last couple of weeks... Breezy and Darby pairing up as new BFF. Any way you slice it, this can only mean Double Trouble!!

And Syd, looking oh-so sweet from the smaller dog yard, watching the birds land on top of the privacy fence. It's almost impossible to see any resemblance in these photos to the cell phone eating creature from last week! :-)

Gizmo to the Rescue - Parade

Gizmo was entered in the Rescue Parade this year. He has not participated in the Rescue Parade since 2004 at the Lake St. Louis specialty. I think he really enjoyed his time in the ring. I know I'm lucky to have him. He has brought so much to the family over the last 6 1/2 years, and he trully opened the doors for me to meet some of the most fantastic people in Cardigans. Without him, I would never have had the chance to have my beautiful girls and a great friendship with someone I consider a wonderful mentor.

Thanks for taking these photos of Gizmo's special moment in the spotlight, Laura! I just realized I have *very* few photos from the specialty, because I never had my camera out. I took some with other cameras for people, but I have very little to share in the way of photos. Hey Emily, when you have a chance can you post the one of Gizzer moving in the ring? I swear, he thinks he's a show dog, and his side gait is pretty spectacular for an almost 13 year old dog with pins in his pelvis! I told Gizmo that he SURELY would have won the "Neutered, Used-to-be-Brindle-but-now-Grey, No-tailed, Deaf" Class in the Megan. Somehow that class didn't get published in the premium, though.

[Garrett's] Justice Is Served

Garrett let me steal Justice for some puppy playtime on Friday afternoon. The little dude is 6 months old, and he really wore out the two girls. During this entire week, Darby never got tired of wrestling and pinning Cardigans, young and old. So it was a shock to see that she had met her match in the energy department after Justice arrived in the puppy pen. Darby even tried to nap, but Justice kept provoking her to play just a little bit longer...

We Survived!

Sheesh, I just plugged in the computer for the first time in a week, and I'm already a week behind all those dedicated bloggers who have posted every detail of their CWCCA specialty experience!

I'm lucky to finally be home and have a giant heap o'stuff piled on the sofa, while I wait for a magic spell to take effect that will miraculously put everything away without my assistance!

Much more on the specialty later, and I did get at least a few photos. I was lazy though, knowing that Emily was taking a zillion photos, so I hope to see hers soon!

For the brief wrap-up for the Hurrikane Gang:

Kane -

• finished his NJP (Novice Jumpers Preferred) agility title, with a 2nd place Monday and 1st place Tuesday. This new title also qualifies him for the Versatile Cardigan VC award from the CWCCA!
• placed 2nd in Veterans obedience both Monday and Tuesday. He NQd in Open B both days, but he did provide some comic relief, especially with his slower than watching paint dry drop on recall! He's a good sport though, and he tried his best.

Syd -

• skipped all her agility trials because she came in season a week or so before. sigh. little sh*t...
• made the cut to the final 5 in the brindle bitch class in the Megan on Tuesday night
• had fun on Saturday in Best of Breed (meaning she did nothing but showed like a superstar)
• finished the LONNNNNGGGG week with an Award of Merit at the Three Trails CWC Club of KC Regional Specialty under breeder judge Gayle Garvin. Wow, what a good girl to play in the ring one last time and do her mother proud!

Gizmo -

• survived eating a hole in a bag of dog food at jacque's house and stuffing himself with kibble that is not on his daily menu.
• had a terrific time and got lots of applause as the Rescue Parade participant, and I think he really enjoyed his few minutes in the spotlight with all the cheering.

Darby -

• was the prettiest Vallhund at the show
• had a blast wrestling with any cardigan who was game to take on the undefeated Vallhund!
• finally met her match when playing with Justice, Garrett's puppy. whew, she was tired, and Justice wanted to keep playing!

I hope everyone made it home safe and sound, and we'll hopefully post more details and some photos later, like MUCH later, after life gets back to normal!

And She Wins the Group

At the tender age of 15 weeks!

Well, Darby had a very exciting weekend. She went with me to the Wichita shows this weekend. I decided to enter her in the Saturday evening B match just for the experience. Miss Sherri was there with her beautiful Cardigan puppies, and I said Jacque and I would help her show them. I did tell her with a wink, though, that when it came down to the Group, my priorities were with the #1 dog in my "string." HAAA. Darby was the only Swedish Vallhund, and there were 20-something Herding dogs entered in the match.

Darby did OK for her breed judging, and our judge was a sweet Bearded Collie breeder from Colorado. She was gentle with the puppies, and so patient with the babies. She was kind to Darby, and as she handed us the Best of Breed ribbon, she told me she thought my puppy was very pretty.

When we went in for the Group judging, Darby was much more lively with other pups in the ring at the same time. She was animated, and wow did she move. The judge came down the line at the end of judging, and I thought she was going to point to Sherri's pretty Cardigan puppy. But, she kept moving and pointed to Darby for the Group 1. :-) As we left the ring, the judge said that she had not seen too many Vallhunds, but what she knew was that the breed needed a well put together front, and good balance, and the ability to move and cover ground. She said she thought Darby was a really nice baby.

By the time the other groups finished up and we went for Best in Match, Darby was more than tired. I picked her up when there was one dog ahead on the table, and she curled up under my chin and thought we were done. She was very quiet on the table for BIM, but she got animated again when it was time to move. The baby Papillon won Best in Match, and it was really a cute little baby.

I think that Darby has set the bar pretty high for herself. What a good little Muffin. Here are a few pix (thanks, Jacque!). Enjoy. And keep in mind that she's never been stacked before, so I thought she did a heckuva job trying to stand like a show dog!

Wordless Wednesday. Eye/Mouth Coordination