When I was pregnant with Coral, I stayed in school an extra semester to keep my student health insurance in place for her birth. My course load was not rigorous winter semester of 1991, and I spent my evenings watching TV in our basement apartment while Kevin worked delivering pizza. I became fascinated by the Westminster Dog Show and spent several evenings glued to it. Kevin was in the habit of stopping by to see me during his shift. When I heard his key in the door during the dog show, I would cringe to be caught obsessing over it. And yet, it was fascinating and entertaining.
I probably don't even need to state for the record that I am not a 'dog person.' But-and I need to just put this out there: don't call, don't write about the political incorrectness of this, other comments are welcome- I really find pure bred dogs of historical breeds, especially working breeds, beautiful and fascinating. That being said, I don't want one in my living room. I don't feel an affectionate attraction to them. And, I still find household pet dogs completely revolting- with the only exceptions over the course of my life being Polly's Dachshunds, Tibo, and Miguel- with whom I have a mutually tolerant understanding. These dogs, while household pets, are not exactly in the mutt category, which keeps my overall snobbery intact.
Last fall, I dragged the fam out to Soldier Hollow to watch the Sheep Dog Trial Championship. We all had fun in various ways- the boys drank gallons of artisan root beer and learned to shoot the paralympic biathlon rifles, Coral and Lance wandered around in a romantic haze, and I watched the trials. I wished I could have sat there all weekend and just had someone bring me a snack now and then. The dogs were amazing-so smart and skilled. The shepherds were a varied and interesting crowd. And, the sheep were, well... sheep, and were entertaining, too. The sheepdog trials were not something I could capture meaningfully with my camera, but here are a few snaps of boys with their Olympic trainers.
Both of my little fellas learned quickly and achieved impressive accuracy.
Well, back to my ongoing relationship with the Westminster Kennel Club in NYC....
Last night I caught about an hour of the dog show. Niall and Leith were both happy to watch with me. We admired the dogs in the 'Working Group' and the 'Terrier Group'. Kevin even watched for a few minutes. I learned that even if I were mentally altered in some way to be willing to own a dog, we would still be incompatible in the pet department. He seems quite attracted to the 'cute' Terriers. I find them, even these highly trained, groomed, and pedigreed ones, very annoying. Every dog in the working group was amazing. The Black Russian Terrier, even though it is a Terrier, was visually stunning, and the Komondor-looking like a Flokati rug- was unbelievable. I am attracted to any kind of Mastiff or Schnauzer because the names are cool and the dogs have that 'Hound of the Baskervilles' quality, in the case of the Mastiffs. The Neapolitan Mastiff was just like 'Fang' in the Harry Potter movie. The book describes a Boarhound, which is an old name for a Great Dane-for all you Potter purists, specifically Kevin and India.
I awoke this morning to the news that the Scottish Deer Hound had won overall. We saw one last summer at the Highland Games here. Now that is an amazing dog............for someone else.
