Last weekend, I showed for 4 out of 5 days at Doswell. I got one win, Clyde’s first point! Thank you Judge Albert Bianchi! Clyde is starting to look good. Filling out nicely as he approaches age 2.
Clyde is 21 months old in this pic. I am 718 months old, LOL.
After the shows, I transported 3 rescues with Whole Lotta Love dog transport out of a group of 15 dogs saved from euthanasia at overcrowded southern shelters. It was dark throughout the trip, as arriving in Richmond is the last leg of the journey. The two people in these pics are fostering overnight. They went north the next day, some going as far as Maine.
This dog is seven years old and a willing rider in the car. Someone had taken good car of her at some point.This mountain cur mix likes to ride with his pink pillow!
Yesterday was a long day! We went to Hampton, Virginia and participated in two dog obedience trials in one day. This was towards the last two legs to get the Beginner Novice title for Johnny. It was also his 9th birthday along with his sister Jane.
The morning trial. Exercises are: Heel on lead, Figure 8, Sit for exam, Sit-stay with walk around, and Recall. He scored 193.5 out of a possible 200 forfirst place! Points off for going around behind me on the recall, and some lagging at heel.
Between the two shows, Johnny and I went to Virginia Beach.
Sit-stay comes in handy for a videoJohnny and me at the beach on his 9th birthday The second trial, same exercises. He scored 195 out of 200 for first place! Points off for slightly crooked sit on recall and a little crowding and lagging at heel.Getting the ribbons and new title from Judge Betsy Horn Humer who was exceptionally nice!
The Portsmouth Chesapeake Obedience Training Club (PCOTC) gives prizes for first place, so I got $20 and a nice new 6 ft leather lead in addition to the ribbons. Thank you, PCOTC!
Johnny’s ribbons from 10/30/2022. Thank you to Judge Betsy Horn Humer for excellent directions, tips, and kindness in the ring!
I was gone for 11 hours. I am happy to report that the five dogs i left at home were able to hold it! I was very surprised that even See See (females take longer to develop those “holding it” muscles) did not make a mess! Needless to say, I don’t make a habit of leaving them that long without being able to go outside. I only fed them half rations that morning.
See See, Clyde, and Winston, not making a mess! This pic was taken AFTER they did go out!Nellie, age 12 and a half, who never, ever, makes a mess. She once held it for 19 hours when my dad was in the hospital. She was 6 weeks pregnant with 11 puppies, including Jane and Johnny, at the time.Jane and Johnny age 9 years and 1 day
See See saw a sheep! She was on a leash though, and then there is that whole fence thing, but I think I saw a spark of herding instinct!
In case anyone can’t spell German shepherd, remember that they are sheep herders. So it’s not Shephard, Shepard or Sheperd, it’s shepherd. Shephard, Shepard, or Sheperd can be someone’s last name though, which is why this text auto-corrects to capitalize. German is always capitalized because it is a nationality but shepherd need not be capitalized. Can you tell this is one of my pet peeves?
Just another day in dog class. Thank you Michael, for the pics! Today we “rotated” dogs, “judges”, and handlers, so that after each dog was examined, that “judge” then took the dog as the handler to the end of the line, and so on. So I got a fresh perspective as a “judge”. The first thing I noticed was that when the handler brought the dog back on the down and back, if I couldn’t see it’s face, it was a detraction from the overall quality of the dog. So, I learned the importance of teaching the dog to look at the judge after the down and back.
Here I am being the judge for a Hamiltonstovare, a new AKC breed. Rosie is a sweet friendly dog. She belongs to Ashley Silver.
The second thing I noticed is, I am dressed like Tiger Woods on a Sunday. And when I think of Tiger Woods, I think about my dad. He loved Tiger. He really wanted him to succeed. He felt the same way about Barack Obama, and lived to see them both become very successful. He was so happy, he cried when Obama was elected, both times. My dad died 9 years ago yesterday at the age of 94, and I still miss him very much.
Here are Clyde and See See free stacking. Thank you Liz, for helping me handle again today!
The VKC has handling classes on Wednesday nights in Goochland, and it is worth the drive! Last night we had Tom Dowell teaching the class, and lots of attendees. (The smaller dogs attend in a separate class at 6:30, with the big dogs at 7:15.) It was great to have a new perspective and a man going over the dogs, just to make sure they are accustomed to both male and female judges.
Here are some videos of Clyde and See See. They are 20 months old today. Liz, a club member, is handling one if them (we switched back and forth). She often teaches the class and has handled many breeds professionally.
Thank you Allison, for shooting the videos!
Me with Clyde Liz with Clyde and me with See See Liz and See See
On Sunday, I volunteered for the “Big Fluffy Dog” organization, and transported Sawyer, a lab mix puppy (neither big nor fluffy), from Stafford to Richmond. This time I dropped off directly to the new owner!
Winston is now Ch. Sir Winston Churchill Out of Sight BCAT CD! The CD replaces the BN because it is a higher obedience title. It stands for Companion Dog.
Winston on the futon, not caring if he has an AKC CD titleWinston’s AKC CD certificate
Winston got his required 3 qualifying scores in three consecutive shows in two days. I am proud! He is so smart and easy to train.
This past weekend, I did another leg of a transport for rescue dogs. I transported 4 of 13 on Saturday from South Hill to Richmond, where they spent the night in temporary foster homes. Sunday, with many other volunteers, they went in to the following shelters up north, avoiding euthanasia that they faced in the full southern shelters.
Here are the dogs I transported. I did not take these pics; they were taken by other volunteers. When I arrived in South Hill for pick up, it was raining buckets, and by the time I got through traffic heading back to Richmond, it was totally dark. So, thank you to the other drivers for shooting these.
Doris, who coordinates this caravan, has this to say about the efforts and outcomes of dog rescuing:
Every weekend, numerous dedicated volunteers help to save homeless pets from high-kill shelters in the South by driving them on leg-to-leg transports to no-kill rescues in the Northeast. Other volunteers overnight them during their 2-day journey. This actually happens all over the U.S., from and to locations everywhere.
I (Doris) am one of many volunteer transport coordinators, and I organize runs from AL/GA/SC/NC to approved rescues/fosters/adopters in the Northeast, primarily in PA and NJ, but occasionally all the way to NY, CT, MA, and ME. These transports are like relays, with volunteers driving one or more legs, each approx. 50-75 miles distance, 1-1.5 hours long. Each driver takes as many dogs as can safely and comfortably fit in their vehicle (from one passenger to many), picking them up from one location and delivering them to another location along the interstate on a specific route and schedule. A sequence of volunteers thus moves the rescued dogs all the way from their origin to their destination where they will find wonderful furever homes. New drivers are sent our transport guidelines and protocol and are coached and assisted on their first run(s).
My transports are most often set up for Saturdays and Sundays, starting in AL early Saturday morning, overnighting in Richmond, VA on Saturday night, and continuing on Sunday to destinations in the northeast. The route is up I-85 thru the Carolinas to I-95 in VA and north from there. Sometimes volunteers are needed to pick up passengers from their fosters or boarding facilities and bring them to the main transport route. Each leg requires from one to many (5-6) drivers, depending on how many and what size dogs are being moved. It is recommended that the passengers be crated for safety, but one or two adult dogs can be tethered uncrated in a vehicle, if the driver is comfortable with that arrangement, and if the dogs can safely be kept away from each other, unless they are bonded. Drivers with small cars to large SUVs are all welcome to participate. There are 10-25 legs on my large transports for up to 10-20 dogs and puppies. I try to do this at least once a month.
I also arrange smaller local transports to move dogs from shelters to boarding or foster care, or to meet long-distance paid transport. These occur often and have only 1-3 legs and 1-2 dogs. We don’t have as many drivers who are available on weekdays, so this is a very important way to save dogs locally. Another critical need is for local fosters, and an overview of this opportunity to help is in a separate document.
The sweet souls on transport have all been vetted and are up-to-date on vax, spayed/neutered (if old enough and healthy enough), and have been quarantined for 10-14 days or more out of the shelter to help ensure they are not carrying any communicable diseases. Most dogs are very people- and dog-friendly, but some have been traumatized from neglect, abuse, or being dumped by their owners and have to be treated with extra TLC. We alert volunteers to any special transport requirements for any particular passengers.
I send out an email to volunteers in my database at the beginning of the week with the transport route, legs, timing, passengers, and driver/overnighter needs. If you are interested in helping, just respond to that email. On Fridays, after transport has been filled with enough volunteer drivers and overnighters, a “run sheet” is sent by email to all participants with full details on drivers, vehicles, passenger assignments, meet location addresses, etc. I monitor and manage transport throughout the weekend to give everyone timing updates and any other relevant info.
I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t thoroughly enjoy being part of the rescue transport community! This is a hands-on way to save precious lives that would otherwise be euthanized and to send them to wonderful new furever homes. Your hearts will be filled with love and joy and your spirits lifted! Since almost all of the rescues are 501(c)3 organizations, your mileage and tolls are tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS.
PLEASE JOIN US by sending me your name, location, email, and phone. I’ll add you to my database for future rescue foster and transport emails. doris_in_georgia@msn.com
Thanks. Doris, WHOLE LOTTA LOVE RESCUE TRANSPORTS
Doris also recommends donating to local shelters. Here are two in Virginia she recommends:
I got the professional win pics back from the Doswell shows where See See got her first points!
See See at 18 months getting Best of Winners for her first point!The following day, we beat out a champion female for another point!
I was so happy I went to the Fair and rode a camel!
Totally worth the 10 bucks. However, my back was killing me. My pelvis does not tilt that way!
Then of course I had to go to the children’s petting zoo. There were lots of domestic farm animals of unusual breeds. I was pleasantly surprised to note that, like the camel I rode, they all appeared to be clean, healthy, and content. Way to go, Chesterfield County Fair!
Adorable baby camelI’ve never seen a goat do thisTwo cows neckingFlirting alpacas
My dogs don’t wolf down their food. They also don’t fight over it, or their toys. So, I’m able to feed Winston, Clyde and See See together. This stimulates them all to eat a little better. Sometimes I have to watch it with Winston as he will eat a little too much.
Not many intact adult male German Shepherds will eat calmly together alongside an intact female. Obviously, I don’t do this when See See is in heat!
This video starts out with Clyde on the left, See See in the middle and Winston on the right.
Shepherd Sight 