Table Talk · January 8, 2020
I am heading home from beautiful, sunny Palm Springs, California where I once again had the privilege to attend the Kennel Club of Palm Springs dog shows and Specialties at the lovely Empire Polo Grounds. This is my 8th year attending this show and I must say I have never experienced more phenomenal weather! The club works very hard to make this cluster an excellent experience for all spectators, exhibitors, and judges and, as usual, they did not disappoint this year. This year was Gloria Toussaint’s second year as show chair and she has done an incredible job getting up to speed and ensuring that the show ran smoothly and that every necessary detail was attended to each day. Gloria and her work with the show Committee, including her husband Terry Toussaint, Darryl Vice and Trish Williamson, exemplifies how a club should plan for succession and work together to ensure that there are enough volunteers involved to make a large cluster such as this come off without a hitch!
I am sure I mentioned this last year after returning from Palm Springs, but please indulge me: This cluster should be on everyone’s bucket list to attend. If you are not able to get your dogs out to California to exhibit, you should attend as a spectator (or even a volunteer!).
I had a fantastic visit with the breeder/owner/handler of the terrier group show winner on Friday, who also won the terrier group at the All-Breed show on Sunday. The sense of accomplishment, excitement for the win, pride of ownership and humbleness truly warmed my heart. Huge wins such as this for a breeder/owner/handler demonstrate that hard work, perseverance and dedication truly pay off! If that was not enough, I also visited with the owner/handler of the hound group winner on Sunday. She has been showing dogs for over 30 years and is living the dream with, as she described it, the dog of a lifetime! Unfortunately, all her friends left and she did not have anyone to enjoy the moment with after her win. I was happy to see fellow exhibitors be so supportive of her win, and her gracious and humble acceptance of their praise. So, my friends, with one of the largest entries in the country, at one of the more prestigious shows, owner/handlers who presented their beautiful dogs with great professionalism prevailed! If they can do it, so can you!
Over the past several years I have heard from a couple of fanciers/Table Talk readers regarding the desire to include special interest stories about those they referred to as “regular people”. I am struggling to understand what the definition of a “regular person” is, as I really believe that we are all regular people. As you all know, I regularly ask for reader participation for Table Talk. When making my request, I make it to the fancy as a whole! I cannot include all birthdays, anniversaries and life events of fellow fanciers if I do not know about them. One and all: Please send me birthdays, anniversaries, and interesting stories of exhibitors that you think will be interesting and inspirational to the fancy. We all were new at one time. Having been in the sport for well over 30 years, I still consider myself a regular person. Perhaps sharing a story about a time that you were beginning in the sport when you were helped by another exhibitor, judge, volunteer, etc. would be inspirational to others and will spark other stories to be shared. Please reach out to me at deb.cooper@caninechronicle.com if you would like to share a story or discuss a possible story.
I was thrilled to see that Daniel Stutzman and Dana Cline’s dog Blue was found and is home safe! A dog getting away is one of my biggest fears, and I am so glad that Blue’s story had a happy ending!
Linda Hurlebaus and her husband were in a bad car accident over the holidays when their trailer fishtailed and their truck and trailer flipped. I am pleased to report that Linda and her husband walked away from the accident without any serious injuries.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Dachshund fancier Judy Anderson. Judy will be sorely missed by the fancy.
The fancy also lost Kerry Blue Terrier and Parsons Russell Terrier breeder and exhibitor Joan Lambert. We extend our condolences to Joan’s family and friends.
Happy Anniversary to Eric and Joan Liebes. It was great to see you in sunny Palm Springs!
Celebrating birthdays this week are: Kayley Kovar, Debbie Melgreen, Harry Miller, Colette Livingston-Keith, Garry Newton, Eileen Hackett, Ken Latimer, Tara Schultz, and Steve Leyerly.
Westminster is right around the corner, my friends, and we will bring you Table Talk Live! coverage from NYC. Please reach out to me via email or private message if you are interested in helping with a breed priority segment, or have a special interest story that you would like to share with us.
Be safe in your travels, enjoy the moment, and please take a moment today to be kind to someone! Be the reason someone smiles today!!! Until next time…
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