I am often asked why I breed and show dogs. I have to admit, sometimes I scratch my head and ask myself the same question!
Why do I spend the majority of my weekends, all of my discretionary income (and some of my not-so-discretionary funds) to have some person pass their opinion on my beloved dogs? Why do I lose hours of sleep and burn miles of rubber traveling to shows? How come I live in a house that has been modified for the comfort and convenience of my dogs, rather than myself?
This past weekend, I was reminded why I do this... in Spades!
At the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of the Western Reserve Specialty, I had the pleasure of watching one of my "puppy people", who has become a very dear friend, finish her very first conformation title on her very first Cardigan!
Terri Clingerman and "Cricket", aka Ch. Xtacee Over the Moon (Ch. Kimberwicke Domino Effect x Ch UlaMauna Xtacee YahooDoray RA, CGC) completed her championship under judge Janet Robinson on Saturday by being awarded Winners Bitch from the 12-18 class; and then topped it off with an Award of Merit. The following day Cricket was awarded Best in Sweepstakes!
Admittedly, Terri's home is a special home. Terri came to me looking for a multi-purpose Cardigan; her main focus was performance. She also wanted something that she could play with in the breed ring. Finishing Crickets championship was a goal, but not the primary goal. The fact that Cricket finished so quickly and well is an added bonus!
Terri trained and handled Cricket completely on her own. Because she had never shown in the breed ring, everything was a new experience. I enjoyed watching her grow as a handler, and am particularily proud of how much she has learned about Cardigans in the short time she has been part of our family.
Which brings me back to the question of why we do this. As a breeder of well over 20 years in Cardigans, I feel its my responsibility to be there for new Cardigan owners. I also feel I am obligated to only place in show homes those puppies that are truly worthy of being shown- in other words- nothing less than what I would show myself.
While at Western Reserve this weekend, I had a conversation with another Cardigan breeder/judge on this subject. There seems to be a multitude of new Cardigan owners out there; the majority of which seem to be floundering about with a lack of direction. What happened to their breeders? Where are their mentors? Its important that breeders understand that their responsibility does not end when the check clears!
I wanted to publicly congratulate Terri for a wonderful job with Cricket- and hope that she enjoyed her Western Reserve Specialty=-= as much as I enjoyed watching from the ringside!
Congratulations to a great team!
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