You wouldn’t know it from the weather, but one unmistakable clue confirms that spring has arrived here in Queens. Lost dog posters adorn every tree, lamp post and bulletin board. Granted, runaway dogs don’t follow any predetermined schedule, but the sudden spike in these incidents happens like clockwork every spring. There are plenty of contributory reasons for it.
There is nothing that gives my wife Sylvia and me as much sustained pleasure as having a newborn puppy in our hands, and all that follows: see the puppies nurse and be cleaned lovingly by their dam, observe and record their growth, watch them romp, get their kisses on my nose, evaluate them again and again with a dream of great future contribution, work with them to train them for their potential careers in the conformation show ring, and take them to their first few shows.
The American Indians, Desert Bedouin Chiefs and many others from tribal lands around the world knew it was important to convey their ancestors’ history and heritage to the next generation. The recorded family trees as well as pedigrees of their stock were passed down from one generation to the next. The preservation of this history was the task of “the Tellers”. Early on this information was communicated verbally and later was recorded for posterity in writing. There was no “Google” to fact check something …one sought out the “Elders” who had a story to tell and you were entrusted to pass their story along.
The problems caused by the generation gap – labeled with phrases like “Back in the day…” and “Youngsters these days…” – have never been as meaningful as they are nowadays. Globalization and the virtual society created an absolutely new and different generation. The basic and urgent question being whether the canine society has realized it so far and is able to find the proper way to react.
If you remember, my initial Canine Chronicle article addressed the unseen consequences of using show dogs as emotional support dogs (ESD). It highlighted the fact that some highly campaigned dogs fly cage free from show to show by using documentation that list them as emotional support dogs. One of the consequences of this misuse is that people who need to fly with their ES or Service dogs may be bumped or subject to greater scrutiny because of underlying suspicion in status. This article will address what, if anything, all breed, local or national breed clubs might do to thwart the abuse of ES & Service dog status by their members.
True to form, Westminster 2015 was a stunner. Am/Can. GCh. Tashtins Lookin For Trouble entered the fray with solid credentials. Campaigned for two years she finished 2014 as the #2 Hound and #9 amongst all breeds. Even so, Westminster doesn’t dole out many wins to Hounds. Moreover, Beagles had no track record at all until 2008 when Miss P’s great uncle Ch. K-Run’s Park Me in First became the first Beagle winner in the show’s 132 year history. Which brings up the real question, what took so long?
Dr. Richard Meen of Toronto has been selected to judge Best In Show at the 140th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show February 15-16, 2016.
We have seen it on the evening news, read about it on Facebook and talked about it with our friends. Sorting out the “real” information about the Canine Influenza outbreak and being well-informed is the first step toward effective stewardship of the health of our treasured companions.
Multiple best in show winning · platinum grand champion
MBIS/MBISS GCh. Raydachs Ride My Ducati SW
