Table Talk – January 9, 2019

The 2019 Kennel Club of Palm Springs cluster is in the books!  With an entry of 3300-plus, the competition was deep and representation of all breeds was impressive.  At the risk of being annoying by repeating myself, I encourage everyone to put this show on your bucket list. It’s a treat for those who have never attended.  The setting is stunning, the grounds are gorgeous, and the entries are great.  The long days can be challenging for exhibitors, dogs and judges, but when greeted by the beautiful grounds of the show the next day, folks seem to forget they just left (big grin).  A huge congratulations and thank you to the Kennel Club of Palm Springs hard working show committee including Chair Gloria Toussaint, Assistant Chair Pat Williamson, Past Chair Darryl Vice and Bruce Gingles, along with all the other committee members.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Sulie Greendale-Paveza who was out in Palm Springs for a judging assignment.  It was encouraging to hear such enthusiasm for the sport and her assignment.  She truly enjoys what she does and tries to make the exhibiting experience under her enjoyable.  In this case, she even went out and bought a new suit for her Best In Show assignment on Saturday!

My good friend Vicki Seiler-Cushman was also out in Palm Springs for a judging assignment and she continues to demonstrate her thorough knowledge of dogs.  In my opinion, Vicki has made the transition from handler to judge seamlessly.  She is another example of a judge who has a refreshing, positive attitude and is concerned about the exhibitor experience.

During my travel to and from Southern California, I noticed what seemed to be an exceptionally high number of service dogs.  Photographs of some of these service dogs were passed around the dog show.  This may be another factor exhibitors want to consider when making the decision to commercially fly their exhibits as service dogs.

I found the Chihuahua Club of America’s published policy regarding Social Media very interesting and refreshing.  They have established a policy that specifically addresses social media conduct in their Code of Conduct, which I think is a good effort toward promoting positive interaction and discouraging negative, bullying, hurtful conduct on social media.  This may be a great item to consider when parent clubs are reviewing their by-laws and Code of Conduct.

Val Nunes-Atkinson will be taking a little break to have knee surgery this week.  Kudos to all of those people who lent a hand this past week in Palm Springs to ensure all of her dogs were shown in the best manner possible.  We look forward to having Val back soon running those left-handed circles.

Shea Skinner was unfortunately under the weather this past weekend and his capable wife, Tiffany, was working double time to get all their dogs shown.  Here’s hoping Shea gets well soon.

Peggy Beisel-McIlwaine is off to Manila to judge a circuit in the Philippines.  Safe travels, my friend; I can’t wait to hear about your trip.

Clint and Karen Livingston and their family are on their way home from a well-deserved family vacation in Hawaii.  Safe travels guys and welcome back!

Congratulations to Risky Molnar and Jamie Danburg who have decided to make their 16-year relationship legal; they got engaged over the holidays.

The Border Collie community lost Kelly Whiteman last week.  Kelly was a Breeder/Judge and was well respected by her peers.  Our thoughts are with Kelly’s friends and family at this difficult time.

Please remember to reach out to me if you have any suggestions for fun and/or informative segments for our Westminster Table Talk Live! coverage.  We also will be doing more breed priority segments.  If you are interested in helping with a segment for your breed, please email me at deb.cooper@caninechronicle.com.

Celebrating birthdays this week are:  Harry Miller, Evalyn Gregory, Colette Livingston-Keith, Eileen Hackett, Ken Latimer, Tara Schultz and Maggie Peat.

Be safe in your travels my friends.  Hug your pooches!  Until next time…

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Posted by Tom on Jan 9 2019. Filed under Breaking News, Featured, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.