The Westminster Kennel Club Show, and Local Winners



Which of these activities best describes a good day for you?
1.      I need a job to do.
2.     I like roving around in the great outdoors.
3.     I’m a couch potato who needs congenial company.
4.     No matter what, I need to get my ducks in a row.
5.     Nothing makes me happier than digging in the dirt.
6.     Doing nothing special, just going with the flow.
7.     I like to nose around and find things out for myself.
How would you describe your size?
1.      Small
2.     Medium
3.     Large
How active are you?
1.      Always on the move
2.     I am busy, but know how to relax too.
3.     I live a sedentary life.
What is your attitude about having people around?
1.      I like companionship and affection.
2.     I am social, but like my solitude as well.
3.     I tend to be a loner.
When given a new piece of technology, what is your reaction?
1.      I want to learn everything about it, and make it do things not in the manual.
2.     I learn how to make it do what I bought it for and no more.
3.     I don’t acquire new technology unless I can’t help it.
Which of the following describes your basic look?
1.      Practical and casual, sweats are fine. 
2.     Sophisticated, but understated and professional
3.     The kind of look that always turns heads, good or bad.
According to how I answered these questions, I would probably be a pug if I were a dog.  That would be okay with me.  I like pugs.  Of course, good dogs are owned by good people; and a dog, be it pit bull, pug or poodle, is the product of his ownership. 
            I bring this up because the Westminster Kennel Club Show is going on right now.  Do yourself a favor and tune in.  Begun in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Show is the second oldest sporting event in the United States (the oldest is the Kentucky Derby).  It is also the only place on television where the word, “bitch” is used reverently.   This dog show is like opera, even if you aren’t into the subject, you can still enjoy the spectacle. 
            However, if you are a dog person, the real, “best in show” winners aren’t at Madison Square Garden.  The dogs who have really grabbed the brass ring are the mixed breed mutts that live here at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas.  These are the dogs who have been adopted, many right off the rural dirt roads where they were trying to scratch open trash bags to get a little food, by retirees at our park.   The pups come in every color, shape and size and they are wonderful companions.  These dogs came to their owners from a life of hard knocks, afraid of their own shadows.  In a few days, after bathing, de-worming, steady food and gentle care, they are transformed.  A few week after adoption, you can see them, trotting at the head of the lead, tail wagging, head up, curious, alert and, most of all, happy!  By the way, the same can be said about their new owners. 
These dogs have landed in the honey pot and they know it.  They return the favor by loving their owners and bringing joy to everyone who sees them.  I admire the dogs at Westminster, but if I wanted a dog, I’d get one from our local shelter—they’ve earned it.
Love all of God’s creatures, and keep the faith.     

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Witches in Georgia, Nuts in Texas

Some time ago a woman in Georgia won a restraining order against a man who had been stalking her for months.   She had met him when he answered her advertisement in a singles column.   In the ad she described herself as a, “wiccan” priestess—a witch!   She was then shocked that she didn’t attract an intelligent, emotionally mature male.   Instead she got a weird, obsessive stalker.   Whom did she think she was going to get? I realize that I am probably not being as tolerant as the times require, but it seems to me that any adult who calls herself a witch should not be expected to be taken seriously.   Do adults have to be told that there are no such things as witches?   Didn’t we learn that sometime between the Salem Witch Trials and the dawning of the nuclear age?   What seems to be going on here is that the mantra of tolerance which rightly began as a way to combat institutionalized prejudice has been carried to an extreme that says we can n...
Read more

Is Obama One of Our Four Best Presidents?

My default setting for a good book is a biography, add a penchant for American history and you have someone who reads a lot of Presidential biographies.   I am up to 13 so far, and plan on covering every President before I die, God willing.   Naturally, it caught my attention when President Obama said he would put his administration up with the top four Presidents.                 President Obama was clearly one of those children who were constantly told by his parents and grandparents that he was, “special.”   He was a special person; his parents were special people and everybody else, particularly people who didn’t think he was special, were wrong, jealous and possibly evil.   Such children grow up with an exaggerated sense of self.   We usually only see this syndrome in athletes or Hollywood stars, because politicians have to come up the hard way and there are lots of people to let them know ju...
Read more

Chris Christie and the Young Vampires of the Tea Party

The Tea Party has given this nation a much needed fiscal intervention, but they are like young vampires.   I can best explain this discord with an analogy of Stephanie Meyers’ excellent books advocating teenage chastity.   Meyers wrote the Twilight series of novels about vegetarian vampires who are under siege from vampires who want traditional vampire values.   Traditional vampires want to kill humans by sucking them dry (which is what Democrats feel about successful business people).    Our vegetarian vampires want to live at peace with everyone while simply being left alone to enjoy whatever vampire-like existence they choose (much like Americans in general).    But complicating things to the max are an army of young vampires.   Young vampires are undisciplined, emotional and ready to kill everything, including each other.   Enter the Tea Party.   New to the game, new to the town, and obeying only one overpowering and all con...
Read more