2010 ASFA Greyhound Specialty - Part 1

Banner is a running dog.

Yeah...  yeah....  I know....  ALL greyhounds are "running dogs".  True, but few approach it with as much gusto and intensity as Banner.  Banner truly loves and lives to run.  He loves to compete and he really dislikes it when he doesn't win.  Yes, I think this boy knows when he doesn't win.

Back in November 2010, the American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) Greyhound Specialty lure course was being held in Tyler, Texas.  It was to be a weekend of lure coursing and a Greyhound LGRA (Large Gazehound Racing Asso.) Specialty.

Up until 2010, the event had always been held on the East Coast, usually in Georgia.  Since the event was so close, relatively speaking, we just had to go.  It was also a good time to check out the dogs as potential mates for Glory.  So, off to Texas Banner & Glory went.  I only hoped that Banner would uphold the family honor as Glory was not entered due to a chronic toe injury.

It was time for a road trip.

Laurel Drew & I loaded up the Toyota 4Runner with the dogs, our stuff, coursing stuff, and other stuff and hit the road.  I had contacted Buddy Scitern at C&C Greyhound Farm to see if he'd allow Banner to take a lap around his training track. It was a desire to see how well the boy could run. We worked our way down towards Buddy's and found ourselves there on Friday, the day before the Specialty.

Immaculate kennels...  Such a clean floor!
(courtesy of C&C Greyhound Farm)

Buddy has a lovely place.  The kennels & runs are immaculate...  The dogs are happy & well fed...  The track is impeccable...  His is a top notch, well run organization.  Buddy & his family are top notch dog people.

There were a few hounds to run before Banner was to get his turn but the first time he saw the lure zip by on the track, he knew what this was about.  He impatiently waited for his turn.  Since we did not have a dog to test the boy with, Buddy had one dog left to run and he graciously allowed Banner to load up next to him, a Grade A Gulf dog, to do the 3/16's of a mile.

I was so thankful that Banner knew how to load in the box, thanks to NOTRA racing.  Buddy's wife (I think it was his wife) took the boy by the collar to walk him to the box and she was almost pulled off her feet by the lad. He was eager, especially after being on the road for a couple of days. She loaded him up and then loaded the Gulf dog, Stomper, and, quick as a flash, the traps were sprung!

Banner never passed Stomp, but he wasn't distanced either.  He held his own and finished lapped onto the dog's hip. The time was under 17 secs.  Coming off the track, he had dirt on his face (a first), but the boy was content and it served as a good warm-up for the weekend.  It cleared the kinks, mental & physical, out. Putting an edge on him for the upcoming Specialty.

Leaving Buddy's, we stopped at the free, Dog Collectibles Museum in Waco, TX, spent more money, and then proceeded to Tyler, TX to check into our hotel and then to scope out the Texas Rose Horse Park - the location of the Specialty.

That's Part 2....

Bugsy

Ch DM Ocean Meets T'Sky

Bugsy, Age 6 - 7 months

Bugsy got his call name because, when he would lay down, the white on his chest would make the silhouette of a long-eared jackrabbit - just like Bugs Bunny!  His registered name comes from the Rod Stewart song, Sailing.

You see, one of my favorite movie scenes is in the movie, The Perfect Storm.  The fishermen are in a bar, the night before they go out for swordfish.  It's night and one of the deckhands, "Bugsy", is trying  to pick up a woman.  In the background, the Rod Stewart song, Sailing, is playing...

"The rhythm of my heart is beating like a drum and the words 'I love you' rolling off my tongue.  Never will I go, for I found my perfect home.  Where the Ocean Meets the Sky, I'll be sailing."

Having been a boat bum for many years, that scene brings back fond memories and a few tears.

Bugsy's family, the Proctors in New Jersey, have two sons, Patrick and Jared.  Bugsy has claimed them and calls them his own.

BOB at Delaware County, Judge: J Council Parker

The Proctors call him 'the little black dog.'  He really isn't all that small, standing a good 30" tall at the shoulder, but in comparison with some of the other AKC greyhounds back there, he's on the small side.  That's frightening!

Bugsy finished his breed ring championship with style.  He was entered for three days of showing at some very tough events:  Greyhound Club of America's (GCA) Eastern Specialty, Morris & Essex, and Devon. Yikes!  These are shows that brig out the "big guns"...  the big handlers & the big time breeders...  Some of the dogs in attendance were bred by long time greyhound fanciers, not all of whom agreed with or approved of my judicious use of racing blood in the pedigrees.  Breeders such as Rosemary Connor (Amwell Ridge), Sue LeMieux (Gaia), etc. In fact, Ms. Connor (RIP) and Ms. LeMieux (RIP) were behind the most recent attempt to close the AKC studbook to dogs registered with the National Greyhound Association, the domestic registry for racing greyhounds.

Anyway, there was a last minute judge change.  Last minute in that due to weather conditions, the scheduled judge was not in attendance.  However, in attendance was Lena Tamboer, a borzoi breeder & AKC hound judge.  The competition was intense with entries from Cebar (Ellie Creech & Dani Edgerton), Chesagrey (Kat Whitaker), Classic (Cackie Vroom), Eden (Sally Taylor), Golightly (Stacy Pober), Grand Cru (Melanie Steele), Harmony (Cyndi Swanson), Willomoor (June Matarazzo & Patti Clark), and Windrock (Kim & Colin Fritzler).  And that's not all of them!

At the end of the day, Judge Tamboer awarded Bugsy Winners Dog for a 5 point major!  That was on 5 Oct 2005.

2005 GCA Eastern Specialty - Winners Dog - DM Ocean Meets T'Sky

Needless to say, Betsey Proctor was on Cloud 9, as was I. A Greyhound Specialty winner in my first litter and the 2nd to take an award at a GCA Specialty!  Earlier in the year, in March, at the GCA Southern Specialty held in Fort Worth, TX, Bugsy's littermate, Jib, was awarded First Award of Merit by noted breeder judge and open field competitor, George S. Bell.

However, that wasn't the end of the weekend as he still had to exhibit at Morris & Essex and then Devon on the last day. Two very tough shows...  The judge at Morris & Essex was Gayle Bontecou, a Scottish Deerhound breeder (Gayleward) & sighthound judge. The entries were pretty much the same as at the GCA specialty.  At the end of the judging, Ms. Bontecou awarded Bugsy, Winner Dog, for a 4 point major!  He finished!  The boy finished his championship and he did it at two of the biggest shows on the East coast against all comers!  Wahoo!!!!  (Can you tell I'm excited & proud of him?)  What a way to finish a breed championship!

Bugsy was retired from the breed ring not too long thereafter and he lived out the rest of his days with the Proctor family.  Sadly, he developed renal disease and died in 2009.  We do not know what contributed to the kidney disease, but suspect it was a consequence of some medication contraindicated for the use in which it was given.

All of us miss our Bugsy.

Banner Baby....

DCh DM Star Spangled Banner FCh SOR ORC

Like his auntie Jib, Banner is into everything!  He and she are making themselves into quite a team.  If it isn't one; it's the other...  my tag team!

Banner Baby, age 7 wks

Now, instead of always hearing "JIBLET!" ringing through the house, you are more likely to hear, "BANNER!"  We laugh as it seems that it is always Banner.  He's my heathen child, but what a talented child he is.  Banner is exceedingly smart and he's very keen when it comes to running.  The boy does not like any other dog to get ahead of him.

Banner was the first puppy born and weighed 1 lb 6 oz.  That is huge for a greyhound newborn!  When he was whelped, he hurt Abbey and she turned around to bite whatever it was that was hurting her.  Laurel & I both blocked her from the puppy and, after he was out, she was fine and started cleaning & polishing him.  After Banner, the rest of the pups were whelped fairly easily, except for Nampa.  Abbey delivered him standing up.  We had to catch him as he was born.

Banner has a lot of his sire's mannerisms.  He'll grab your hand and lead you somewhere.  He's a funny, funny dog.  Just last night, I was watching him with his brother, Nampa.  Nampa was nitting Banner's ears and Banner squealed.  When he squealed, Rob hollered at Nampa to "knock it off."  Nampa stopped and was just standing there when Banner, started chomping on Nampa's feet.  However, Rob didn't see the foot chomping and when Nampa retaliated, Banner again squealed, and Nampa again was chastised.  LOL....  Banner just lay there on the floor, quietly thumping his tail with a big ol' greyhound grin on his face. The brat!

Banner is a musician...  He's a Gene Krupa wannabe.  During the summer, we have small, plastic kiddie pools for the dogs out in the backyard.  The hounds like to lay in them during hot weather.  Well, the wind this past autumn blew one of the pools upsidedown and we never turned it back over.  The other day, I hear this drumming outside.  I look out the kitchen window and I saw Banner by the pool.  He was looking at it and his tail was slowly wagging.  Hmmm.....

Next thing he did, while still looking at the pool, was lean back on his haunches.  He lifted his front feet off the ground, supporting himself with his back and haunches and started slapping the pool, drumming it, with his front feet!  He couldn't support himself this way for long and as he put his front feet back on the ground, he got this big ol' goofy grin on his face and the tail was wagging again.  After a minute or so, he did it again.  LOL....  The boy is a musician!

Banner is pointed in both the breed ring and in the lure coursing field.  His win in the breed ring came at the Coronado Kennel Club shows under noted saluki breeder judge, Sharon Bartosh Kinney.  He garnered 2 points in that win with Rob showing him.

Banner, NOTRA Winner

The boy really shines in the coursing fields.  On 19 Oct 2008, Banner went Best of Breed at the Albuquerque Whippet Fanciers Asso. October AKC lure coursing trial for a 5 point major win.  The judges were Barb Ewing and Joel Brady.   The next weekend, Banner competed in his first NOTRA racing event.  Banner was awarded 1st place in greyhounds, a JOR leg, a SOR leg, ORC points.  Not too bad for a first time entry.

The following weekend, he competed in his first ASFA lure coursing event.  On Saturday, he finished first in Open to win 24 points and a placement towards his FCh.  We decided to flip a coin for the breed win with the owner of the #1 ASFA greyhound, Tally.  Renata won the toss and Tally went Best of Breed.  However, the points that Banner won by winning the Open stakes earned him a start in the next day's ASFA Region 3 Regional lure course.  On Sunday, Banner again went 1st in Open stakes, allowing him to run for Best of Breed against, Tally, the winner of the Field Champion stakes.  Tally & Banner ran in the breed stakes run off.  The judges tied them.  Oh geeez.....  We came to the line again, and at the "Tally Ho!" both hounds were slipped.  This time, Banner emerged victorious and won his first ASFA Best of Breed.

Now then, we wondered, does he have enough left after 4 runs to compete in Best in Field?  Is it even remotely possible that our 16 month old greyhound could win the Regional, like his momma?  We were about to find out.  Banner drew a very hot running borzoi named Nitro (owner: Tom Golcher) and a good running Rhodesian Ridgeback, Finely.  Nitro is fast - greyhound fast.  Finley is a great running Ridgeback.  Both are seasoned competitors.  This could be interesting.  It definitely would be a test of Banner's desire & ability.

The hounds are slipped and it soon becomes clear it is a very, very fast run between Nitro & Banner.  The two exchange leads and Banner makes a diving take attempt on the bag.  He misses, rolls and comes up running.  He has a lot of distance to make up on Nitro.  He finds another gear and he's driving....  driving....  He's still behind but closing, inch by inch.  Finally, near the end of the course, he passes Nitro and picks up the bag in his mouth!  He's running with the bag!  Then, the line breaks!  The judges call it a course and now, we wait.  The next course on the line is the afghan hound, Summer, and the Pharoah, Xena.  Who will win?  The winner was.....  BANNER!

Not to let Banner rest on his laurels, most recently I took him hunting.  He shows great promise, especially for being a big dog, at being pretty good in the hunting field.  However, only time will tell.

Banner in pursuit of a NM jackrabbit

Dearly Departed

These are our friends, who we loved, and who left us all too soon.  To them, this page is dedicated.

Where To Bury A Dog

There are various places within which a dog may be buried. We are thinking now of a setter, whose coat was flame in the sunshine, and who, so far as we are aware, never entertained a mean or an unworthy thought. This setter is  buried beneath a cherry tree, under four feet of garden loam, and at its proper season the cherry strews petals on the green lawn of his grave. Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple, or any flowering shrub of the garden, is an excellent place to bury a good dog. Beneath such trees, such shrubs, he slept in the drowsy summer, or gnawed at a flavorous bone, or lifted head to challenge some strange intruder. These are good places, in life or in death. Yet it is a small matter, and it touches sentiment more than anything else.

For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes he leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, questing, asking, laughing, begging, it matters not at all where that dog sleeps at long and at last. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land, where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is all one to the dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained, and nothing lost -- if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog. One place that is best of all.

If you bury him in this spot, the secret of which you must already have, he will come to you when you call -- come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path, and to your side again. And though you call a dozen living dogs to heel they should not growl at him, nor resent his coming, for he is yours and he belongs there.

People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his footfall, who hear no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never really have had a dog. Smile at them then, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing.

The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.

by Ben Hur Lampman

Glory.... DCh DM Jolie Noir

Glory is one of the Flag Day Litter and she was the last puppy born on 14 June 2007.  We tried to keep all the names flag related and hers is, sorta...  well....  not really.

Because of her color, black, actual flag names were somewhat limited to those on a Pirate Flag theme.  (I must say that I wanted to call her "Old Glory".)  Anyway, some of the known pirate flags were Jolly Roger....  Not good because she's definitely not a "Roger".  Jolly Rogue - Nope...  no "rogues" in this litter and, besides, who ever heard of calling a girl a "rogue"?  There were red pirate flags as well as black pirate flags (who knew?) and Betsey, her co-owner, suggested "Jolie Rouge" because that's what the French called the red pirate flag...  uhm...  she's black, not red.  And, come to find out, Jolie Rouge is the root for Jolly Roger.  Back there again....  Sheesh!  Talk about frustrating!  So, we came up with "Jolie Noire".  Ya know, naming puppies shouldn't be this hard!

Glory was never claimed by her co-owner, so she permanently resides here in New Mexico with her two brothers.  She regularly beats up on them here at the house.  She rules the boys and shows her dam, Abbey, proper respect. Like her Aunties Jib & Javelin, she's another busy body who is always into something!

Best Opposite Photo, Coronado KC

We think Glory is stunning!  She is an AKC dual champion. She finished her breed ring title by going Best of Opposite Sex over finished champions!  That win took place at the Coronado Kennel Club shows in Rio Rancho, NM under noted judge Dr. Edna K. "Midge" Martin.  Dr. Martin gave Glory's sire a major win in Lubbock, TX several years back so I was hoping that she's like her as she resembles Dash.  Dr. Martin's comment on handing me the ribbon, "Finally! A bitch with the proper topline."  I thanked her and she told me, "Don't thank me.  Thank the bitch."  Yes ma'am!

Prior to finishing her lure coursing title, Glory was major pointed in AKC lure coursing and has 8 points, including a 5 point major by going Best of Breed over the field champions.  Hmmm...  I'm sensing a pattern here.  She beats up on her brothers & she beats up on champions?   The girl is an Amazon, an Amazon that is very fleet of foot.  One of her lure coursing wins was at age 14 months when she finished first in the Open stakes at the GCA Western Specialty lure course in 2008.  She tired, however, and did not win breed.  If she had, she would have retired the GCA Western's lure coursing trophy as she would have been my 3rd winner as an owner. Our other two winners with legs on that trophy were BJ and Jiblet.

In Glory's first attempt at ASFA lure coursing, she got points when she finished 2nd to her littermate, Banner, on Saturday.  In that effort, she qualified for the Region 3 Regional and garnered 18 points towards her field championship.  She has since finished her ASFA FCh title.  We also tried oval (NOTRA) racing and she did get a JOR.  However, that toe is keeping her from competing further in NOTRA and in any other running events. So sad...

Glory has been open field coursing and she's pointed with AK's.  She showed great promise as a hunting bitch but that toe injury has, as of now, effectively ended her running days. At least, until after she finishes her AKC Grand Championship. 

In May 2012, Glory was entered one day & one day only in the Rio Grande Cluster.  We pulled her out of retirement to show to Dr. Edna K. Martin.  Dr. Martin awarded her Best of Breed over other champions of record for a 5 point major towards her Grand Championship.  To get a GCh, a dog needs to have 3 major wins (3 points or more) over champions of record and a total of 25 points.  Well, since Glory took that major win, we've brought her out of retirement to show.  In October 2012, we entered her two of the four days of the Los Lunas cluster.  She took two, 3-point majors on the days she was entered.  That gives her the required 3 majors and a total of 11 points towards that GCh.  Not too shabby...  Three majors in Three Days under Three judges....  The hard work is done, now she only needs to point out.

AKC Page for DC DM Jolie Noir FCh JOR aka Glory

We are thinking about heading to the Eukanuba National Championship, which is being held this year in mid-December in Orlando, Florida, to see if we can pick up more points and another major towards that Grand.  It would be nice.  Out of a total of 11 puppies, 5 of them have been Eukanuba invitees with several of them being invited more than once.  We are very proud of our record and of our dogs.

Glory in continuing in the footsteps of her predecessors and she's doing it with class & style!  Beauty & function go paw in paw....

Slate

DM Snow's Legacy on the Wind  

Wayne & Slate - Best Buds

Slate was owned by and lived with Kathy & Wayne Johnson in Michigan.  Kathy is also known by her business, Feathered Gems Jewelry.

When Kathy found out that I was breeding Feather, she really wanted one of the puppies.  You see, Kathy owned his granddam, Snow (Ch El-Aur Fair Deal FCh) and his cousin, Allegra (El-Aur Dragon Magic JC). You can definitely see the family resemblance.

Slate's registered name was DM Snow's Legacy On The Wind, which was a compromise between Kathy & I.  In sticking with the sailing theme, I wanted to call him "On the Wind".  Kathy wanted to call him, "Snow's Legacy".  As it is, combining the two worked out quite nicely giving him a beautiful and melodic registered name, which also gave credit to his granny, Snow.   And (we later figured this out), if the letters of his call name are rearranged, they spell "Tesla", which was the name of the Johnson's very first greyhound, Greys Gold Rush.

Feather's Litter - Slate on top in the middle

The pups were whelped at the home of Laurel Drew, they lived there for the first 5 weeks of their lives.  I am ever so thankful that they were whelped at Laurel's home because she helped me through the experience of the difficult birth and the c-section and then, when it was discovered that Feather had very little milk, bottle feeding the entire litter of pups!

Slate was a strapping 16 oz puppy when he was born, but he had a very poor suckle. We don't know why as he was a lovely & well developed baby.  There were a couple of times I thought we were going to lose him because he lost weight & became dehydrated. That was when we started bottle feeding.  Even on the bottle, the boy had a poor suckle. We wound up tube feeding him.  Eventually, he got stronger and a couple of weeks later, the entire litter was eating a slurry of meat, baby rice cereal, and goats milk, which was supplemented by the bottle.  He ate quite well and was fine after transitioning to the food. Who knows...

When Slate was a puppy, I convinced a reluctant Kathy to try dog shows.  "Just try it..." I'd cajole her.  Kathy is probably a lot smarter than me as she really doesn't care for the dog show routine. She's definitely saving herself some money that way!  Anyway, She did attend two specialty shows with the boy, one in TX and one in Upstate NY.  In Texas, the boy won his class and somewhere there is a picture of this lovely blue dog with a medallion & blue ribbon. He & Kathy stopped showing when he developed an overbite. In the words of Marty Bradford, "He should finish, but I wouldn't breed him."  We don't know from where the bite problem came.

Slate was very smart.  He had favored toys and he learned to ring bells to go outside. He would wait at the door until given permission to come inside.  One of his favorite things was a gumball treat dispenser that Kathy filled with Cheerios.  She had to take it away because he was getting fat!

According to Kathy, Slate was never really friendly with other dogs.  He wasn't nasty, just didn't want to associate with them. But, at home, he was never anything but sweet. When she brought home the 13 weeks old puppy, Jack (UKC Ch DM Union Jack FCh) he was very good with the rambunctious puppy.  She said he was much the way with Jack, teaching him the rules of the house, they way cousin Allegra taught him.

Slate has his own webpage, with many of the photos that Kathy took during his life with her.  Sadly, Slate was diagnosed in Nov 2009 with chronic renal failure.  That disease combined with a bad back injury cost him and in late July 2010, he joined his Grandma Snow, Momma Feather, and cousins Allegra & BJ at the Rainbow Bridge.

Slate was one of the Sailing Litter born by emergency c-section on May 26, 2002. Kathy has a larger website with lots of pictures of his entire litter from birth to 10 weeks of age.  You can view it at Feather and 'Cuda's Puppies and you can see the litter's pedigree at Greyhound-Data.