The Owl Box

Ok, so it's been a while! But in the words of an old Johnny Winter song, I'm Still Alive and Well.

We've been fostering a new Bull Terrier, Skippy who came in from Sullivan Co. Animal Shelter. He's a very sweet boy who is just about ready for his own forever home. When he came to us, he weighed 28 pounds!!!!! An adult male Bull Terrier should weigh 50 pounds or more! This poor boy was skin and bones when I picked him up. I'm happy to say, he's now closer to 40 pounds and looking better everyday.

We've also been trying to get the top on our dog's kennel. I've heard Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls and also Red-Tailed Hawks out there and we don't want any of them swooping down and grabbing up one of our little dogs. I love having those birds around, should keep down the rat/mouse population! Not to mention they are beautiful creatures!

I've been working on my stained glass, making trophies for the Miniature Bull Terrier Club's last show. They turned out great if I do say so myself :)

I'm also involved in a new fundraising project with my friend Paula to raise money for our Bull Terrier rescue. Having a blast doing it. You can read about it on the Bullie's blog Kids in Dog Suits or if you are on FaceBook you can check it out on the fan page we made for it. Flat Papster and Flat Benny's Excellent Adventures~The Race to Silverwood.

The last couple of days I've been glued to this computer screen watching Molly and McGee, 2 Barn Owls out in San Marcos, CA. A couple out there put an owl box up on their property 2 years ago and this year the pair decided to use the box to raise their young. So far they have 1 owlet and 4 eggs still left to hatch. Egg number 2 is expected to hatch anytime now. It is so fascinating to watch her care for that baby and exciting to see the male come in to bring her food at night. Please go check them out, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Anyway, that gets you guys caught up for now, enjoy the Owl Box and I will try not to be as long posting updates next time.

Blessings to each and every one of you!

Why I hate to vacuum....

Ya'll thought I was only kidding about the Bullies not letting me clean house in peace, didn't you??
They do the same thing with brooms, mops, window cleaner spraying, etc, etc, etc.



I'll be back later with the story of how our dog show went last weekend.

Fun Pictures

JoJo had become very good at using his feet to do all kind of things. We gave him a couple of those waffle balls with bells inside that you get from the cat toy section, he loves them. He holds them in his little foot and shakes them like maracas while muttering all kinds of things under his breath, not sure if he is singing or just jabbering, but it's cute.

My friend, Kara sent me this cute picture of Miss Winnie all snuggled in her chair. I don't know what it is about these rotten Bull Terriers, but they do love being all snuggie under blankets. All of mine do it and as you can see, Winnie is no different.
Those of you that live in the south know what Goody Powders are. Kiwi, our little Green Cheek Conure seems to have a headache in this picture. All I had with me was my camera phone so it's not the best picture in the world, but at least I managed to get one. He had the best time with that empty packet AND he was quiet, so I let him keep it.

Now, I'm off to the grocery (YUK) and back to get some work done on my latest stained glass project....trophies for our upcoming dog show.

Enjoy the day,

Tagged Again

I know I'm getting old and can't run as fast as I used to, but tagged TWICE in one week? Man, I need to learn some new moves to get out of the way quicker. :)

Dannielle Over at 50 Fingers & 50 Toes caught me. So here we go, the same as the other picture folder tag except this time it's folder #6, Picture #6. Rules are the same as the last one.

The dogs found this big guy hanging out around our pond last year and DH rescued him. (He wouldn't have made it very long if he hadn't) Good thing for the turtle we have Terriers who can't keep their mouths shut when they find something new & exciting to play with or should I say torment?

We put him in the bathtub for safe keeping overnight, then took him out to the lake and set him free out there.

Now, the rules say I am supposed to tag 6 people, but I'm going to follow Mrs Mari's lead, and tell you, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. :)

The Bullies are blogging!

Alright already!!

The Bullies finally have their own blog!

I have had numerous people ask me to let them have the keyboard once in a while and let's hear it from their point of view, so today, I let them do just that! If you are interested, you can go to

Kids in Dog Suits and see just what they have to say.

I WILL let everyone know up front, I am not responsible for how they think, they are Terriers after all, and anyone who has lived with a terrier for any length of time knows, they have minds of their own. Don't be fooled by the fact that they don't have beards, they are true terriers, through and through!

I hope you will visit their site and give them some encouragement. And I sincerely hope I haven't just enabled 3 monsters!

Camera-Critters

I have found the perfect Meme for me, Camera-Critters! Considering Hubs and I have 15 dogs, 6 birds and a Bearded Dragon, along with a foster dog for the moment AND I'm a dog groomer, I could play this game a LONG time without running out of photos!
So, I'm excited to publish my first post, if you'd like to join in, click on that adorable badge of the puppy with the camera and GO!

(My favorite picture of her, she's begging for my ice cream & yes, it worked)

(recuperating from her spay)

My first installment is Miss Feather Louise, my 4 year old Bull Terrier. I love all my dogs, but Feather holds a special place for me. I honestly feel, if it weren't for her, I would never have made it through the grief and the total feeling of being blind-sided by my mother's passing so suddenly in 2004. She kept me grounded, she made me laugh when I thought I would never laugh again, she made me get up everyday and keep going, she is a joy to have around and I swear she can talk.

(riding shotgun in the RV)

(her favorite way to sit)

IHeartFaces

I found the neatest little contest that I just had to get in on over at I Heart Faces. I have looked at a few of the entries and just love them. I wanted to add mine before I go back and look at the rest of them.

Now, since my "kid" is almost 21 and lives out on his own now, I don't have many recent pictures of him, so I wanted to add one of my 4-legged "kids" to the contest. :)

Meet Darla Jean, a brindle Bull Terrier. I took this photo in a hotel room after a long day of showing at the Bull Terrier Nationals, she was one tired puppy.

BSL? Really? Well, what about this??

(Search and Rescue Team, Christina Ridge and Doc)

BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is trying to take over this country like a virus, a deadly virus for those of us that love dogs. Owning Bull Terriers, it's a personal concern for me, but it should be a concern to everyone who owns and loves dogs. Just because your breed isn't on the list now don't think you're safe, rest assured, it will be, give it time. If we, as dog lovers, don't get busy and do something about it, we will all lose our right to have dogs.

What starts off as a law against "Pit Bulls" will be changed to "Pit Bulls" and American Staffordshire Terriers. Then, not satisfied or just because they can, why not add Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Bull Terriers. Oh and let's not forget the Rottweiler or the Doberman, they're dangerous too, right? But wait, how about we just say any dog over 100 pounds, because lets face it, if it were so inclined to be "dangerous", a dog that size could really do some damage, right? Ok, so let's just do that. Think it won't happen? Think again, it already has. Fairfield, Iowa has a restriction on just that, so if your dog weighs over 100 pounds, best go around Fairfield if you are traveling and want to keep your dog safe!

I have a magnet on my vehicle that says "Punish the Deed, Not the Breed" that is exactly what needs to be done, don't blame an entire breed because of what a few do. Suppose you were raped or robbed by a dark haired, blue eyed man, does that mean every dark haired blue eyed man should be considered a robber or rapist? Of course not! How stupid would that be?? Well then, why are the idiots powers that be passing laws to ban every "Pit Bull" because someone was attacked by one?

Ok, I know some of you are saying, this woman is crazy, does she not know how scary those dogs are? Well, let me ask you this, Why are they scary, because you, yourself have had a personal experience with being attacked by one? Or is it because the news showed a report about an attack and it scared the bejesus out of you? Yes, I know it has happened more than once. Why? Because drug dealers, gang bangers, criminals and any number of other jerks out there see that same on report on the news and they decide they have to get a dog like that so no one will bother them. They get one, they raise it to be a mean, bad dog so they, themselves look badder and what do you have? Dogs that are doing just what they were raised to do, not what they were bred to do. So, the news media is not helping the matter at all.

Now, look at these pictures....

This dog is doing what he was raised and trained to do...Search and Rescue. His name is Doc, and he is an American Pit Bull Terrier, a breed that is at the top of nearly all BSL laws and restrictions. He was injured during the rescue effort following Hurricane Ike. It's a good thing BSL wasn't in effect in Galveston, TX, huh? Think about it, I mean really think about it, banning a "Pit Bull" would mean, banning Doc and many other dogs that are working to help us. In those pictures, the lady carrying him is his owner Christina Ridge, I don't know who the man is that is helping him, but obviously, he is not concerned with someone besides his owner working on him while he is injured. Does that dog deserve to be banned or restricted just because of his breed, or his color, or his 'looks'?

Dogs are what we as owners make them, and they should be treated on an individual basis, punish the owner that is letting that dog run loose and wreak havoc, not the dog that doesn't know better. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners!

To find out more about your area, or your state, check out Rott-N-Chatter here you will find information on laws, what you can do to help, a list of states and Canada that have BSL in effect or are thinking of it.

More information on Search and Rescue dogs and dogs used to help during disasters can be found here Disaster Dog.org they also have a list of breeds that are affected on their site.

And, lastly, just to clarify, there is no such breed as a "Pit Bull" it is an American Pit Bull Terrier, when you say "Pit Bull" it's lumping every dog that looks like an Am Staff, or a Staffie Bull or a Bull Terrier, or any mix of those dogs as one breed. (I for one can't see the resemblance in my Bull Terriers and an American Staffordshire Terrier, but some fools out there do or

they wouldn't be listing them as all the same breed)

I leave you with a link I beg you to try, and come back to tell me how you did, be honest, I myself got it wrong the first time I tried and I've been involved with these Bull Breeds for a long time! Take the test, please. It's not as easy as it looks, so how can animal control anywhere KNOW what they are looking at?? Every dog on that page "fits the description" of what a "Pit Bull" is supposed to look like, so you tell me, what do we do??

We stand up and fight is what we do, we fight for our right to have the breed of our choice, we fight for our rights as pet owners, if we don't do it now, we will be fighting for the right to have a dog, (or cat or horse or bird or whatever) PERIOD! Keep a check on your city and your state, keep an eye on what bill is coming up and stay on top of it, write letters, send emails, attend meetings, speak out, THAT is what we do!!

I'm sliding my soapbox back under my little table for now, but it's still within reach, I can pull it back out anytime. ;)

Blessings to you and yours, be they 2-legged or 4-legged!

Fostering Chico, the Bull Terrier

We own and show Bull Terriers, you know, the "Target" dog, or if you are a little older, "Spuds MacKenzie" or perhaps a little older still, the "General Patton" dog. Those are just 3 famous Bullies, there are quite a few more listed here that you may not even know are Bull Terriers! I've posted about their antics a few times, the main one that stands out at this moment, the time they went on "An Adventure" through the neighborhood at the butt crack of dawn! Oh yes, they can be trying, they can be stubborn, they are bossy, they are bratty, they are funny, they are clowns, they are loving and we are absolutely devoted to this breed! I can't imagine my life ever being without one. They bring me laughter and lift my spirits each and every day. (See what I mean?)

My Pappy rolling around in the bed. LOL

That being said, I am a member of the Bull Terrier Club of America and being a part of that club, I feel I should do my part in rescuing Bull Terriers in need. When I can't foster a dog, I try to donate funds to our rescue committee. The BTCA and it's members try their best to help any Bullie that needs rescuing.

Last Friday, I get an email telling me of a Bull Terrier in the Johnson City Animal Shelter and since I am the closest to him and he's slated to be euthanized in 2 days, could I go get him? Of course I can, even in the middle of moving things to the new house, how could I live with myself if I didnt help this poor boy. He was an "owner surrender" a little thin, but not emaciated, scars and scabs all over his face from fighting and all he wants to do is play and be loved on.

"commando crawl" Bullies LOVE to do this

can you see him smiling?

He walks on lead fairly well and will "Sit", we are working on "Down" right now, and "Kennel Up" for when he needs to be crated. He loves his raw food and looks at me like I am Greek Goddess of Food or something. He will make someone an awesome pet and I hope he will find his very own forever home. He hasn't offered to fight with or try to hurt any dogs here, but I haven't had them out together yet. I want to make sure he is not contagious from being in the shelter. He also has ignored the chickens next door, could care less about our birds and seems to like men and women both. He's very playful and his eyes show a typical Bullie glint of mischievousness.

I will keep everyone updated on his progress. Right now, he is at 48 pounds and as soon as I can give him a bath (he has stitches from being neutered) I'll be able to better tell the condition of his skin and coat.

enjoying his first turkey drumstick

So, here we are, 2 people trying to move from one house to another, caring for our own brood of 15 dogs, 6 birds and a Bearded Dragon, both of us running our own businesses and we figure what's one more? Neither of us could bear the thought of a wonderful dog being put down because some jerk of an owner decided either he didn't want it anymore, or just didn't want to deal with the responsibility of taking care of one. At any rate, Chico is here until he can find a forever home.

playing with Hubby

Bullies live for "good times" they relish in life and all it has to offer, getting everything out of it they can, I hope I can take lessons from my Bullies and remember to "Live Life to the Fullest, enjoy every minute of it!"

Bullie hugs and kisses,

Angie (and the Tennessee Tribe + one)

Bullie Adventures or "Why is my hair graying? says the Mom

While watching my Bull Terrier girls play in the backyard this afternoon, I was struck with the thought of just how much those crazy dogs do for me & my sanity. Not a day goes by that I don't laugh at the antics of one of the 3, usually ALL 3 give me a laugh or two. Bullies know how to live life to the fullest & how to relish in every glorious moment of it. They are known as "A Kid in a Dog Suit" not a care in the world & doing things just because it's fun.

My fun comes from watching them. They bounce like a deer, they play tag (using the poor azalea bush as "base"), they tease one another, they remind me of little kid in kindergarten that does what he knows he's not supposed to do, then sits back & watches everyone else get in trouble for it with a big grin on his face. They also hucklebutt & trance, things I have never seen another breed of dog do in my 28+ years of working with dogs. I have yet to be able to catch a great hucklebutt on video, but if you go to YouTube & type bull terrier, hucklebutt in the search box, you will see lots of them, some better than others, but hucklebutts none the less. One of my favorites is this one.

Trancing is something lots of Bullies do, but not all of them. Pappy, the baby has yet to do it, I've only seen Darla do it one time, Feather on the other hand seems to do it every chance she gets. They will stand under something, branches hanging down from a bush, plants in the house, tablecloths, anything that is just long enough to tickle their back. They will stand there as if in a trance, eyes kind of glazed over a bit, with a look of pure bliss on their faces. I've seen Miss Feather Louise stand for a full 5 minutes basking in the feel of a tablecloth on her back. I know, a little strange, but yet another Bull Terrier trait that I just love.

Bull Terriers are not for everyone, they are, after all, a terrier. Those of us who have them are totally devoted to them, adore them, sometimes curse them, laugh at them, cry either AT them or BECAUSE of them, but can't imagine life without them.

They do keep life from being boring, & make me contemplate adding a nerve pill or 2 to my daily list of meds I have to take. Like the time Miss Feather decided the grass was greener on the other side of the fence & proceeded to use that big Bullie nose to open the gate, let herself & all her little 4-legged brothers & sisters out to run down the middle of the road to Mamaw Jackson's house next door! Scared the crap out of me & probably gave the neighbors a big laugh watching me run behind them in my pajamas, hair not combed, teeth still sitting in the cup on the bathroom sink, threatening them within an inch of their lives. Or, the time we came home to find a note on the front door from the police department, informing us that they were here today, checking out a "possible" break-in, & a cop parked up the street, because the alarm system was sounding off, & ADT for some unknown reason couldn't get in touch with us & had called them. After checking the place out & finding everything to look ok, they posted an officer nearby until we got home. (Apparently, ADT turned the alarm off once the officers arrived since it wasn't sounding off when we got home) The neighbors were all waiting for us to get home & descended the minute we got out of the car, "the cops were here today", "your alarm was hollerin", "reckon everything is alright?", "we thought somethin was wrong" How embarrassing it was to have to go out & tell everyone, cop included, everything was fine, Feather Louise just decided she would rather sleep in our bed, than in her crate. I found her, curled up under the ball of covers, sleeping through all the commotion! Somehow, she had gotten her crate open & wandered through the house, setting off the motion detectors in the house. Oh, & I can't forget the latest Bull TerrOr adventure.........

5:30 am, the butt crack of dawn, Robert comes in to wake me up saying "Honey, you gotta get up, the Bullies are out & I can't find them, I've been looking for 30 minutes & it's dark & I need help" Sheesh! So, my heart pounding, thinking they have been hit by a car, or a school bus or something, I got my son & his friend out of bed & we all got in separate cars, combing the neighborhood looking for these 2. We found them, 2 hours later, 1 block down the street, in someone's fenced in yard, playing with their German Shepherd! When I got there, they looked at me like "What, I wasn't lost, I knew where I was, is brekkie ready?"

What was it I said at the beginning of this post? Something about them being good for my sanity?? HA. Truth be known, I wouldn't have it any other way, I love these dogs like you wouldn't believe & can't imagine me ever being without a Bull Terrier in my life.

(don't let those innocent faces fool you, they are TerrOrs, through & through. Feather is the white girl, Darla is the brindle girl & the shot at the top of my blog is Pappy when he was 4 months old, I LOVE that picture!)

Hug your puppies, hold them tight & thank the Good Lord for sending them to you.



Hugs & Treats all around,




Angie

6 pounds of Chicken Livers

Most of you know we feed our dogs a Raw Diet, meaning, they get no kibble or any other kind of dog food at all, they get meat and only natural treats. All of their food comes from the grocery or the meat packing plant that serves food for us humans. Everything that goes into their little bodies could just as well be going into ours.

They get chicken, beef, Jack Mackrel, venison, turkey, rabbit, quail, and more. They also get cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, deer legs (in season), beef ribs, bananas and more. When feeding a raw diet, there are some guidelines to follow, they have to have organ meals, (liver, kidney etc), they have to have supplements, they have to have bone. It sounds daunting, but it really isn't. Just takes some practice and some learning and the internet is filled with all kinds of sites to get that learning. It is also filled with sites that will give you wrong information, the trick is finding the right place and the right people. I found just those people on a Yahoo group called Raw4Bullies.

My adventure into the raw food diet began when Feather, my 3.5 year old Bull Terrier was diagnosed with Demodectic Mange and secondary skin infections, among other things when she was just a baby. Nothing was helping her and going to the vet once a week was doing nothing but making my vet bills grow trying to treat her and get her better. I started searching online and found that wonderful group and the rest is history, as they say. I started her on this diet and within a month, I could see a HUGE change! No more problems with mange, no more skin infections and for a girl who started her life off being at the vet's office at least once a week, she hasn't been to the vet for anything other than a rabies vaccination in over 2 years!

(Feather in her Santa hat "talking" to me)

So, I will tell anyone who will listen about this diet, how my dogs are healthier now than they EVER were, how Dr. Steve (our vet) will see us in the store or elsewhere and ask us to bring the Bullies to visit with him since he never gets to see them. Anyone with ANY questions about it, please leave a comment or email me and I will help you give your dog the best it's ever had, I promise, you won't regret it.

Now, the idea behind this blog post.....Last night was organ meal night, chicken livers to be exact, and Robert was working late, so I had the honors. I HATE liver, I mean I really HATE liver, (used to take a whipping every Friday night while I was growing up over it, Mom would say "You eat it, or you get a whipping" I would take the whipping) it gags me, turns my stomach and generally gives me a "sick in my stomach" feeling just looking at it, never mind handling it or smelling it. If anyone were here watching me dish it out, I'm sure they would be laughing at me with tears in their eyes, watching me wretch every few seconds, mumbling about how much I hate liver and having to take me teeth out to keep from gagging even worse! HA! Robert gets a big kick out of it, me, not so much. So last night, while I was going through this horrible ordeal all by myself, with no one to laugh at me except the dogs, I thought, "I'm going to post this on my blog for all the world to see, pictures and all"

Here you go, pictures of all the bowls before adding the supplements. One of my dear friends, Janice (Mom to TraceyBelle, Pappy's half sister, also raw fed from birth) tells me feeding at our house reminds her of an Army Mess Hall, with everything lined up and weighed out. (please excuse the mess behind the bowls, we are in the midst of moving and things are all in an uproar around here)

You will notice there is one bowl that doesn't have food in it, that would be Pappy's bowl. Our baby Bullie. Pappy is 10 months old, weighs nearly 60 pounds and is the picture of health and beauty! Pappy is 4th generation raw fed, meaning, his mother, his father, his grandmother, etc are ALL raw fed as well. I have had dogs all my life, and he is, by far, the healthiest puppy I have EVER had! I attribute it to his diet and the fact that he has NEVER had any dog food or kibble of any kind since birth. Anyway, Pappy will not eat chicken livers, I don't care how I serve them, cold, warm, hot, seared, mixed with cottage cheese, with a dollop of yogurt, nothing, it doesn't matter, he will not eat a chicken liver!! So, Mr Papoose gets beef liver instead. Let me tell you, beef liver gags me worse than chicken livers, I can smell that stinkin stuff across the room. I fixed his bowl first so I could get that wretched smell out of the house before going on to the rest of the kids.

(Pappy (L) with his littermate Bama, also raw fed in October at the Nationals. Bama's Mama tells me, he won't eat chicken livers either)

So, like I said, if you want to know more, learn about how much better this diet is for your dog or cat, please, please leave me a comment or email me. I will help you the best I can. There are lots of places that sell raw food already mixed and ready to go. With 15 dogs, around here, it's more feasible for us to buy it ourselves and go from there, but if you only had one or 2 dogs, feeding the pre-mix would work for you.

Hope you found this post interesting and didn't gag too much looking at "6 pounds of chicken livers" :)

Blessings everyone!

Angie

Silverwood & Pappy

Things around here have been just crazy, of course, that's nothing new, my life seems to always be crazy. I have been trying to get over here to post something since we went to the Chattanooga dog shows.

First things first, Silverwood in Orlando was AWESOME! Tiring, but awesome! For those of you reading that aren't members of the wonderful family of Bull Terrier fanatics, Silverwood is THE premier show for Bull Terriers! This year the shows ran from Oct. 9-12 in sunny Orlando, FL. The week includes the BTCA (Bull Terrier Club of America) National Specialty and all it's classes, and it also includes the Silverwood Competition, which in short, is the best American Bred Bull Terrier. Bullies and their owners come from all over the US, Canada and beyond. It is truly the best of the best. I was in heaven being surrounded by all those beautiful dogs and their crazy, just as beautiful owners. My puppy, Pappy, didn't show in Silverwood, but did pretty well, ribbon wise, in the National. He got first in his classes, but being a puppy, and acting like a little monkey most of the time in the ring, we didn't advance to the next round. Still I am very happy to have the ribbons. He has some growing up to do and when he does, I have high hopes for this brindle tornado I call my baby. Below is a shot of him with his litter sister, Callie-Claire, and one of his litter brother, Winston. It was like a family reunion for us, 3 of his litter mates were there, a half sister, his dam, his sire, his grandmother and a great aunt were all there. AND they are all raw-fed!! Pappy is a 4th generation raw fed baby, why do you think he looks so good?!

Pappy (L) & Callie-Claire (R)

Pappy & brother, Winston

Vicki and Janice should be proud of the babies they have produced, they are beautiful, of course, I could be just a bit biased. ;) Pappy had a ball in the hotel room, he loved that big old king sized bed, I couldn't resist a couple of shots of him playing on it! This one cracks me up, this boy is a riot!

This is one of my favorites, the little monkey! ;)

I did so enjoy visiting with my friends, Janice & TraceyBelle (Pappy's half sister) from NJ, Melissa and John (Pappy's sire), of course, Janice & Vicki & their crew from TN who bred this beautiful boy and graciously allowed me to have him. I got to meet our Canadians, Marty & Suz, who threw a fun filled Canuck Party to get the week off to a great start. I finally got to meet Dede in person, we've "talked" online & she is just as sweet as I thought she would be in person! She has 2 great blogs as well, http://www.dedewilson.blogspot.com/ (her cooking blog) & http://www.legacybts.blogspot.com/ check them out, you'll find some wonderful writing & some awesome recipes on them. I got to meet Linda & her babies, (what a nice lady she is). Those are just few of them, if I listed them all, this post would never end. So suffice it to say, I had a great time & wish like crazy that I could make it next year, just don't know since it's in San Jose, CA next year.

Anyway, I leave you with a picture of Darla after a long day waiting for her Color Doppler Heart testing to be done, we waited for a long time & she was ready for bed, can you tell?

Bullie kisses to you all,

Angie

Chattanooga Dog Shows

The Chattanooga dog shows were this past weekend and I was so excited to be showing my baby boy in his first show. A dog cannot be shown "formally" to compete for points until they are 6 months old. Some of the shows have "fun matches" that you can show puppies as young as 3 months so they can begin getting aquainted with the show ring, the surroundings and everything else that goes with being in a dog show. Pappy turned 6 months old on Aug. 25, 2008.
My excitement about getting to show him and getting out of Bristol for the weekend was slowly fading as Friday wore on. Like always, when we are trying to get out of here for a show, something usually comes up, this past weekend was no exception.
I had 2 dogs scheduled to groom Friday morning before getting the motorhome loaded with our food, clothes, make-up, drinks, dog food and of course the dogs. I also had to bathe the Bullies (thankfully, my wonderful son bathed Feather for me!) and the Crested before leaving. Time was slipping by and I had to go to the electric company to get things started on the new house, then over to the realtor's office to get the house inspection paperwork started as well. I hate clock watching, the more time that goes by, the worse my nerves get! We finally got on the road somewhere close to 11 pm (I swear it felt like it was past midnight!)
The drive was uneventful, UNTIL we got to Chattanooga! We got within a mile of the show grounds and the motorhome just up and died! Here we sat, in a parking lot of a big flea market at 4:00 in the morning and that big monster refuses to start! So, we made sure the generator was up and running and just went to sleep until morning when the auto parts stores would be open. Pappy's ring time was 9:30 am and to even think of getting to the ring on time was out of the question, there was no way! So, I just gave in to the thought that he would not be shown on Sat. I was so disappointed, but I kept saying "tomorrow is another day and it just has to get better"
My wonderful husband finally got us up and running and by 10:30 we were parked on the show grounds setting up the ex-pens and settling in. The Cresteds went on at 1:05, but by then I was so disgusted, I didn't bother to get ready to show her. She would have felt my tension and aggravation through the lead and wouldn't have shown well anyway.
Sun, Bull Terrier ring time was 10:10. I got both the dogs "made up" and all of us were ready to go in plenty of time, or so I thought. We headed to the show building at 10:05, there were 7 dogs ahead of us, 3 Staffordshire Bull Terriers and 4 Alaskan Malamutes, so that would have given us time to get our arm bands and get settled down a bit before going into the ring. As we were coming through the doors, I looked across to our ring and saw a Bull Terrier going around!! How was that possible! Judges aren't allowed to start before the posted time! Pappy was the only male entered, so that Bullie had to be a bitch, which meant Pappy missed his class AGAIN! I got to the ring just as the steward was calling Darla in for her class! Thank goodness, Darla was the one I had on the end of the lead, and was able to go right in. I didn't have her squeaky, I wasn't ready at all, but I had to go, the judge was waiting. She took Reserve Winners Bitch, which means 2nd place and showed pretty well for me considering how the morning went. I was proud of her.
When things finally settled down, Pappy got to see his breeder, Vicki and his mama China and his litter sister, Callie-Claire, but I was not a happy camper. He had a real chance at the points both days, if he had gone Best of Winners. So, Pappy's first show will be the Nationals in Orlando next month. It was good to see my Bullie friends and meet Michelle, a neat lady that Pappy's daddy, Jon Coffey owns. The Bullies were all beautiful and I did get to watch the whites show. Lori S.' white girl, Tessa took Best of Variety and went on to a Terrier Group 3 later in the day! Congrats to Lori and the Pooles for that win! I found out later, only 1 Staffie Bull showed up and none of the Malamutes showed up, so between that and the fact that our clock was about 10 minutes off from the motorhome not having power when it died THAT is how we missed the ring time! Thinking of it still irritates me, but......
I'll sign off of this post for now and fill you in on the trip back home tomorrow.
Blessings to you all