Ranger Has a Lazy Owner

I can't believe it has been June since my last entry here.  What a "bad dog" I am.  I think part of the problem was Ranger had a bit of a dry spell.  After Woofstock, he didn't get back into the ring until the Northwest Cardigan Fanciers' Regional Specialty at the end of September.  Although I think he looked wonderful, he didn't do anything at the Friday sweepstakes or the specialty.  The Richland Kennel Club all breed shows was a little different and quite a coup even without a win.  With an entry of 14 dogs and 9 bitches, he was one of 6 boys pulled from the BOB class on Saturday and one of 5 boys pulled on Sunday.  I'm pretty pleased that he was standing with the likes of Harvey and Pilot and Wizard and Hunter and Remi and Nash when he wasn't quite 18 months old.

After the regional, Ranger showed at the Boise Cluster in Idaho, and the Wine Country Cluster in Napa, California, but alas, those were not to be his places.  It wasn't until the last day of the 4 Roseburg, Oregon shows that he finally got a Select Dog.  His luck followed him to Yuma where his got Best of Opposite for 2 shows and  Select for the other 2.  The weekend after Yuma, he went Best of Opposite and/or Select Dog 3 of the 4 days at Costa Mesa, California.  Two of those were majors, so by the end of the year, he had no only earned his championship but has 19 of 25 points, plus the three majors needed for his grand championship.  I'd say that 2012 was very, very good to the masked man.

Next up is a return to the SoCal Regional Specialty where he was Best in Sweepstakes last year, followed by the Orange Empire Kennel Club that same weekend.  Wish him luck that he finishes that weekend.

Hey Man, Ranger went to Woofstock

I have been pretty remiss about not keeping this blog up-to-date. Truthfully, though, I have an excuse; Ranger has only been in one cluster of shows since my last post. He went to Woofstock in allejo, CA. He was not a good boy and acted more like a petulant teenage boy than the champion show dog he is. Angie was not amused. He did managed to get his first major select on the first day, bringing his grand championship points to 9 with one major, but the rest of the weekend was a washout. Whether this is because he just wasn't what the judge was looking for that day or because he wouldn't stand still on the table and was a general PITA in the ring isn't known, but my guess is for the later.

Meanwhile, something good did happen at Woofstock besides the 3 GCH points. Ranger got his OFA preliminary Xray done thanks to Carolyn Tompkins who took him for his 2:00 p.m. appointment. Afterward, she told me that his hips looked good and on 6/20, the OFA sent their confirmation that they agree. Here is the proof.

Plans right now are to get the rascal back in the ring around the end of August, but we know how plans can go.

He Went. He Saw. He Did Not Conquer (Not This Time).

Ranger went to the Nationals in Sandusky, Ohio, April 23rd to April 28, 2012. In the sweepstakes, he was one of 5 pulled from a class of over 20. He didn't place, but in my book, that was a pretty big honor for a white-faced, spotted-eyed black dog in a sea of beautiful brindles.

In Breed, he didn't make the first cut, but Angie told me he showed like the champ that he is and he just wasn't what the judge was looking for "that day." It's all fine and good, if you ask me. I don't want this boy to burn too brightly too early. He was probably just letting me know that he's saving "it" all for next year in Tucson when I will be able to be there to see him shine. Yeah, that's the ticket :-D.

Thanks again, Ladies of Whimsy Show Dogs (Angelia Hall and Jen Outhet) for taking such good care of our boy. And thank you, Steve Hall for taking care of Angie and Jen.

Next stop: Woofstock in June.

Glendale, AZ was Very, Very Good to Ranger

Best of opposite sex to the number 1 Cardigan in the country sounds pretty good, if you ask me, and Ranger did it for all 4 days of the Glendale, AZ cluster. And just in case you don't know who Libby is (GCH Aubrey's Tails of Mystery), here's a photo of her with proof of why she's the #1 Cardi. (NOTE: All the photos in this series were taken by me.)

Ranger had his share of Kodak moments, too, under the expert handling talents of Jen Outhet of Whimsy Show Dogs. (I'd like to pause here to thank Wiccan York-Patten for her expert photography advice. It is because of her that I was able to catch some really good shots.)

This series is from the the first day, hosted by the Kachina Kennel Club.

Also hosted by the Kachina Kennel Club, these next photos are from the Saturday, April 7th show.

The last day I attended was the Sunday show, hosted by the Arrowhead Kennel Club. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good movement shots but caught a couple of stills that I like.

In all, it was a wonderful trip. My brother lives nearby so I was able to combine seeing Ranger in the ring for the first time since his debut in the Boise, Idaho fun match last October, with visiting with family I hadn't seen since last April.

Ranger's First Snow

Because he had spent so much time in the south this past winter, Ranger missed out on his first Idaho winter. Well, actually, Idaho kind of missed out on its winter altogether, but that's a different story. We awoke to snow this morning and, like most Cardigans, Ranger went to it like a duck to water.

Championship Photo

Angelia Hall, Ranger's most wonderful handler, decided that she'd had enough "formal" shots on the road to his championship so she went for a casual look in this photograph. I love it, although I did not love having to work a little Photoshop magic on a pictures that cost $35. Ranger's eyes had been turned completely white from the flash and the photographer didn't take the time to fix them before printing.

They both look so happy and proud of themselves. I really like this photo.

Win Photos from CWCCSC Regional Specialty

The pictures are in and what great photos they all are.

This shot was taken by Amanda Roberson right after Ranger and Angie won the CWCCSC Regional Specialty sweepstakes. It brings me to tears of joy, seeing this wonderful team celebrate a job so well done! The love Angie shows for him couldn't be more evident. In all the world, I couldn't ask for a better person to be with him when I can't.

The official Sweepstakes Photo. On the left is Sweepstakes judge Cindy Bossi. Next are the stars of the day, Angelia Hall and Ranger. And on the right is Melissa Crouthers Stevens.

The official photo from the morning show. On the left is president of CWCCSC, Barbara Tannahill, then judge Deborah Anthony and again Melissa Crouthers Stevens on the right.

The official photo from the afternoon show. Melissa Crouthers Stevens, the official prize holder :-D, stands with judge David Anthony.