Thursday, December 2, 2010

Special(ty) Gem

I decided to enter Gem in Veterans and Veterans Sweeps at the NSDTRC USA National Specialty in White Bear Lake, MN this year, then immediately began second guessing my decision. Gem was born February 21, 1995, which put her at over 15.5 years of age at the time of the Specialty. She was my introduction to the breed as well as my foundation bitch. She attained enough titles during her performance years to earn a Rusty Jones and a VCX. She is also one of the NSDTRC USA’s first ROM dams. Gem looks pretty good for her age but she sleeps a lot and has a pretty set routine at home. Her eyes are a little cloudy with the beginnings of cataracts, and she’s a bit stiff in the morning from arthritis. How would she handle the long drive from IL to MN as well as staying four nights in a hotel?


As it turned out the old girl was a bit restless being away from home and I did spend some time each night walking her around the hotel. I worried the trip was too much for her and thought about pulling her entry. Maybe she would get in the ring and freeze, wondering what the heck we were doing there. Even as we were standing outside the ring waiting to go in for Veterans Sweeps I was still unsure. And emotional. I thought about all of the things we had been through over the years; all of her accomplishments and my great love for her and felt my eyes well up with tears. I walked Gem around to keep myself from bubbling over. Finally it was time for the 10+ Veteran Bitch class.




You can see as we entered the ring she was a bit hesitant. I coaxed her in and started to relax as I got down to the business of handling. There were only four bitches in the ring. Everyone would get a ribbon. We were just there to have fun, to let Gem show off one more time. As we gaited around the ring for the first time memories of the show ring seemed to come back to Gem. She started to act like she knew where she was and what to do. She stacked quite nicely for the judge and looked her straight in the eye. I think this impressed the judge. She asked me how old Gem was and I told her proudly, “She’s over 15.5 years old!”. The judge told me she looked wonderful, and I thanked her.






Our pace on the down and back and around the ring wasn’t as quick as the other dogs, but her movement was sure and balanced. She did manage to speed up a bit while gaiting around the ring when the crowd started to clap and cheer for her. Still I was a bit shocked when the judge pointed to Gem for first place in her class. We left the ring in a happy daze, though had to turn right around again for the Best Veteran in Sweeps judging. By now Gem had her game on. She happily trotted back into the ring and repeated her performance for the judge. When we went around the ring this time all the clapping and cheering had a sort of “Tinkerbell-esque” effect on Gem; the years seemed to drop away from her. It was quite an emotional moment for me when the judge awarded Gem Best of Opposite in Veterans Sweeps.


Better than any ribbons, Gem has been more alert and engaged since the Specialty. Her time in the ring has given the old girl a new spark. Now when I watch her sleeping I wonder if she dreams of her time in the ring. Though no matter what she dreams of, she is a grand old girl and we are quite fortunate she is still with us.

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