[Dailydrool] the dog show.......repost in plain text

[nancy]

i am re sending this because a drooler said it didn't come thru, i 
changed it to plain text, hope it helps......nancy



this was crossposted from an agility website i frequent, and thought it 
interesting to share here....nancy, hershey and einstein


 > Subject: Fw: Yesterday At The DogShow
 > **crossposted*

*
 >
 > "Yesterday, I experienced a very unusual thing
 > indeed. It might restore someone's faith in humanity! I know it did
 > mine.
 > As with all forms of competition, there comes a certain amount of
 > ambition,
 > goal grabbing, disappointment, anger and even revenge in extreme
 > cases.
 > Some of it is just the nature of competition, the majority of it is
 > just
 > malice. Dog showing is no exception. Unfortunately, all too often I
 > have stood at
 > ringside and heard malicious comments, bitching and bickering. Dog
 > show
 > people can be very cruel to each other sometimes. I have on
 > occasion b een
 > the brunt of these comments, but that's another story. Well,
 > yesterday I
 > had a breath of fresh air, as it were.
 >
 > I was stewarding at the Rough Collie Club of Ireland's Championship
 > show. It's a relatively popular breed here in
 > Ireland. Always a big entry. They had a wonderful judge from the
 > U.K. This
 > lady has been in the breed since 1949. So, it goes without saying,
 > I was
 > pretty privileged to steward for her. Anyway, just before the Novice
 > class, one of the club officials came into the ring and, I
 > overheard her tell the
 > judge about the one entry in the class, I thought it was unusual that
 > there was one entry in the class, but later found out the reason
 > why! I called
 > the class, and in walked an old man and his Rough Collie. I've
 > only ever seen
 > this man at our St. Patrick's Day show. He's an old man, rough
 > around the
 > edges and, well, his dog is really unkempt by show standards. He
 > marched
 > proudly into the ring with the dog on a great big, thick rope lead!
 > While
 > the judge was going over the dog, I was filled in on his story. I
 > was told
 > that he lives in an old folks home in Galway (the other side of
 > Ireland).
 > He has no family left living and no visitors at the old folks home.
 > He's been
 > showing this dog for eight years only ever on St. Patrick's Day or
 > the
 > Club show. He'd traveled 50 miles on a bus yesterday morning, which
 > takes about
 > 5 hours in Ireland. The nurses in his home usually phone the club
 > to tell of
 > his departure, and the club usually phones back when they spot this
 > old
 > man at the show. He has only ever shown the dog in Novice, and
 > people over the
 > years never compete against him. The nurses told the club officials
 > that
 > when he wins a rosette at a show, he wears it for weeks at home in
 > the old
 > folks home. The dog lives with him at the home and is quite a
 > celebrity
 > "Show dog" with all the residents. The pride and joy of this man's
 > life.
 > He spends half the year telling people about the last dog show and
 > the other
 > half of the year looking forward to the next one! Anyway, the judge
 > was so
 > considerate to this man. And, boy, was he proud to show his dog
 > off. When
 > the judge asked could he look at the dog's teeth, "Oh yes," the man
 > replied and instructed the dog to "Smile." With that, the dog
 > showed off a perfect
 > set of choppers! The judge replied, "Aren't you a clever dog?" With
 > that,
 > the man said "Oh, he is very clever, he'll shake your hand, too,
 > if you
 > like." I couldn't help smiling when I heard this, and full credit
 > to the
 > judge, she shook hands with the dog. The dog won first in the class
 > and
 > every exhibitor at the show, gave this old man and his dog a standing
 > ovation. He was cheered and clapped as he did his own lap around
 > the ring.
 > People came over to the ringside to congratulate him and pat the
 > man on
 > the back as he left the ring. Talk about Elvis leaving the
 > building, this man
 > was certainly the king when he won his class. He was just so proud
 > of his
 > accomplishment. He lapped up every minute of it. It was the first
 > time,
 > I'm sad to say, that I've seen people being genuinely nice at a dog
 > show. They
 > really made this old man's day. Possibly year! Heaven help the
 > residents
 > at the old folks home when he returned home last night. Not only
 > did he win a
 > rosette but also won a great big trophy. I'm sure it will take
 > pride of
 > place on the mantle piece. Isn't this what dog showing should be
 > about?!!
 > Giving people like this old man a day out to enjoy the only family
 > he has.
 > His best pal, his dog. A memory for an old man to hold on to, to
 > brighten
 > his day, something to share with his friends at the old folks home?
 > Something to be proud of, however small the achievement? Anyway,
 > that's
 > the story, just a thought, an observation and possibly an
 > inspiration to us
 > all?
 > I know it's one of the happiest memories I have of a dog show."
 >
 > Nancy Conner
 > Tainaron Irish Setters, Reg'd., since 1969
 > and one Cardigan Welsh20Corgi, since 2001
 > and a smattering of English Cockers, too
 >