Tuesday, February 16, 2010

A World Renown Sporting Event. . .

Gentle reader, there is an event happening in the world of sports, going on as we speak, which cannot go unnoticed by this simple blog. This televised event brings together the best of the best on the planet to compete for the title of champion under the watchful eyes of highly trained judges. I speak of course about. . . the 134th Annual Westminster Dog Show!

Tonight is the final night of this venerable contest of champions, a veritable cornucopia for dog lovers! It's canino a canino, but not in the Mike Vick sense. And even though the judges always cheat to help the terriers, you should not miss this event. Go hounds!

In the meantime, as you wait, check out this link: CLICK ME. It's a commercial, but it sums up man's best friend pretty darn well!

Then come back and tell us about your favorite dogs and what you like about them?

27 comments:

Tam said...

We had a German Wire-haired Pointing Griffon growing up. She was great. Friendly, loyal, happy, attractive, cool, (she was a hunter, after all.)tough...she got one half of her ear ripped off in a fight, and she was downright scary if other dogs threatened her people. On the other hand, she was terrified of lightning and thunder, ran headlong into a tree chasing a squirrel, and she was frequently intimidated by the cat. She spared us all some drama when she got old, just walked away never to be seen again on the very day my parents decided it was time to put her down. One of her breed won best in show a few years ago and I was so pleased!

AndrewPrice said...

Tam, We had dachshunds. . . several. They were all characters. One used to like to dump over the garbage as a protest to being left at home. Another one was terrified of the wind -- would not go outside if it was blowing. Another used to try to chase down motorcycles. And the rest were generally insane. It was fascinating how they all had different personalities!

I'm currently dogless, but would like to get a yellow lab next, but don't have room for it yet.

Tam said...

You must have room if you get a lab...one of our dog's neighborhood friends was a black lab whom we nick-named 'Spaz.'

AndrewPrice said...

A friend of mine in Maryland had a yellow lab named Truman -- and he needed a LOT of room. Plus, everything had to be raised up so he wouldn't wipe things out with his tale. What a great dog though!

Writer X said...

I've always loved collies. I had the best dog as a kid and, yes, I begged my parents for one because I was in love with the LASSIE show and movies. Although she couldn't ring the fire bell and alert the police, I'm fairly confident my dog at least thought about it. ;-) She was such a good dog and I still miss her.

AndrewPrice said...

Writer X, Collies are nice -- very pretty dogs!

Maybe she just never had the chance to call the police? You should have staged a robbery to see what she did! :-)

We had one that figured out doorknobs, but wasn't tall enough to work them. . . fortunately! They were all very bright!

Writer X said...

Andrew, my dog was beautiful. She was a tri-color, not a sable. She didn't think she was a dog.

AndrewPrice said...

Sound pretty!

patti said...

i love me 50 lbs and up of pure quivering rescued/abandoned/muttish dogs, although i did have a yellow lab i loved beyond measure as well. big dogs are dogs you can wrestle with, chase for days and they fill up your life (and homes). we just got a newb (dexter...we like to think we are clever by saying he serial kills us daily) and he's 19.9 pounds at 14 weeks with paws that fill my palm. BRING IT!

we have a friend with a show vizsla and the gal that shows his dog for him won big there (i don't know what they won, only the hubbub surrounding the win. sorry.)

AndrewPrice said...

Patti, I'm thinking about rescue/pound dogs too. I love puppies (who doesn't) but the rescue/pound route seems to be the right thing to do.

We had a mutt from the pound and he was great, except for a couple of issues -- he hated girl scouts to the point that he would attack them. So we had to watch him closely.

I'm also a fan of bigger dogs. I loved our dachshunds (who weren't exactly small), but I like the big guys -- though they are more work.

Unknown said...

Andrew: I watch all the dog shows faithfully. Dogs rule (even if I can only have a cat). I ignore the sissy dogs and wait for the dogs I've had in the past--Mastiff, St. Bernard, and Rhodesian Ridgeback. Also love the Springer Spaniels, which was my childhood dog. Amazingly, mastiffs and Saints don't take up nearly the room you might think, but a Rhodesian needs room to run and play. I like to pretend that Kitty Kelly is a dog since she's bigger than any of the dogs in the toy class. OK, she's a cat (she's giving me the evil eye again).

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, I love the St. Bernard, but I can't imagine how much space they need. I'd probably have to buy a pickup truck with a couch in the back just for the dog! LOL!

patti said...

law: my sister had tow ridgebacks. sweetest dogs i have ever seen. and you're right, they didn't take up near the space you'd think they would.

Unknown said...

Andrew: Let's put it this way, neither the mastiff nor the Saint fit in my Porsche. Whenever I wanted to go somewhere with them, I had to turn over my keys to the Porsche (gulp) and trade them for the keys to my wife's station wagon.

StanH said...

I love dogs, and have owned all kinds, large and small, many mutts! Now my wife and I own pedigree…excuse me…right! For my wife’s last birthday she wanted a new dog as our Sheltie and Toy Poodle both went to dog heaven. Since we lost two dogs we had get two dogs, two Toy Poodles, Mickey and Minnie. We also have a Minnie Pincher, her name is Sparky she is ten, cool beast all. We also have two cats for good measure, Ms. Kitty, and my daughters cat, Squeak. Needless to say we are ripe with critters.

BevfromNYC said...

I love the Westminster Dog Show, but I've never been. They don't advertise tickets and it always sneaks up on me.

Our first dog was a pekingese - Prince. He was great and very protective. He held off the neighbor's German Shepard one day and the Shepard backed down! He lived to be about 18 years old and was so great. Like Tam's dog, Prince died of a little doggie coronary at the same time my parents made the decision to put him down. I think he still haunts our house...

My favorite are always mutts, but I would love a French bulldog. Love their bat ears.

BevfromNYC said...

This quote is for you, LawHawk:

"Dogs have family, Cats have staff!"

(Don't tell Kitty Kelly I said that, but I bet she would most definitely agree...)

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, I can't see a Bernard squeezing into a Porsche! LOL!


Stan, Sounds like the wild kingdom at your house! I've never been a car person, but I do like dogs.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, That's a great quote! I wouldn't mind seeing Westminster in person!

Unknown said...

Bev: I will definitely keep that entre nous. Kelly already thinks I work for her.

Jocelyn said...

Lawhawk, we had 4 Ridgebacks over the course of 20+ years. And I absolutely love them. They are great dogs, but they certainly can be stubborn animals. They are wonderful family dogs. Other than the distinctive hair growing the opposite way, they don't have a bark. They howl. And ours certainly howled at the moon (didn't matter if it was full or not).

USArtguy said...

Currently we have a Jack Russell. Our previous dog, "Lucky", was also a Jack. He was the single most intelligent animal I've ever encountered. Scary smart, class clown and fearless. Loved rough and tumble play but was small enough to curl up on your lap. A big dog in a small dog body.

I spent my teen years and more living in the country. City folk who no longer wanted their dogs would drive them out to the country and dump them. We took in literally dozens of strays over the years. Every one a good dog if treated right. Admittedly, a few were dumber than a box of rocks but they always brought joy.

One other dog nearly Lucky's equal was a stray we took in that perfectly fit every description of a Belgian Sheepdog. She was beautiful, loving and smart. I'd like to have another some day. Along with about another dozen different breeds!

AndrewPrice said...

Congratulations to the Scottish Terrier, tonight's Best in Show!!

AndrewPrice said...

USArtguy, Our pound dog was a Jack Russell mix of some sort. You're right about their intelligence -- he was easily the smartest dog we've had.

I have no use for people who dump their dogs. That should be a hanging offense.

Unknown said...

Andrew: Aw,nuts. I saw that. I love Scotties, by the way. But I'm tired of the mastiff and St. Bernard often being the bridesmaid (best of breed) but never the bride (best of show). I think it's partially a Democrat plot--they're scared of big dogs and if they were in complete control, the toy poodle would win every time. LOL

Di said...

I love dogs. We now have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and a Sheltie (looks like a mini collie). The Sheltie is very loyal and very protective which makes him somewhat neurotic. I L.O.V.E. my Corgi and would recommend that breed to just about anybody who asked my opinion. (Queen Elizabeth would agree). He's obedient (mostly) and smart and loyal and not too big and he loves to cuddle. One dog sleeps with each of my kids to protect them through the night.

AndrewPrice said...

Di, The Corgi is an extremely cute dog! Sounds like you've got a couple of great dogs!

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