Happy Independence Day Weekend!! Not only did we get a three day weekend, but both of Jenny’s active duty brothers are currently home and not on a deployment — something we appreciate as we celebrate our country’s independence. And that wasn’t the only cause for celebration — Indy and Karma gave us a few reasons to celebrate too.
On Saturday, we left the house EARLY to make it up to Loveland for an 8 am start time at the Buckhorn Valley Kennel Club show. Karma was up first, and despite her lower energy level (can’t say we blame her) she went Winners Bitch for a point! Two of the class girls didn’t show up, so it went from 2 to 1 point, but we’ll take it! Thank you to Steffie Cheng (fondly known as Auntie Steffie) for handling Karmie girl so beautifully!
Then it was Indy’s turn, and now would probably be a good time to explain why Indy is no longer retired. Back in March, our good friend Kelli Kujawa (Designer Vizslas) lost her boy Eddie. Kelli and Eddie were quite the team last year, when they placed at almost every show from the Veteran class. Shortly after Eddie passed, Kelli asked us if she could handle Indy in the Veteran class as soon as he was old enough. Happy to help her heal and put a smile back on her face, we told Kelli we would be honored to have her show Indy. Two weeks ago, Indy turned 7, so Buckhorn was the first time he would be able to enter. We handed Indy over to Kelli and were thrilled to watch her handle our boy. Kelli showed him beautifully and it was so nice to have everyone clap for our Veteran as he went around the ring. He got a pink “Best Veteran” ribbon and we would have been happy if our wins ended there. It was great to see Kelli having a great time and nothing makes us happier than watching Indy. But, it would get even better. Kelli had to go on her boy Hardy so Jenny took Indy back in and one of our fellow club members Jessica (a former junior handler that is amazing!) went on Karma (Auntie Steffie was showing a special). It was musical Vizslas for sure! Note that this was Jenny’s first time in the ring. The best part was when Judge Sheila Polk did Indy’s exam and commented on his cute “zipper” — love that nickname for Indy’s cowlick! After several trips around the ring, Jenny and Indy got the nod! Indy was picked for a Select Dog award, good for 2 Grand Champion points! And as a side note, Kelli got Best of Breed with Hardy 🙂
Big thanks to Mrs. Polk for giving both our red kids points on Saturday, it couldn’t have been a better day!
Today was another great day all-around. Karma and Steffie were again picked for Winners Bitch for another point! Thank you Judge Chris Walkowicz! Indy was out of the money today, but he did look pretty darn cute again! Kelli handled him in the Veteran’s class and then his breeder, Judy Hetkowski (Boulder Vizslas), was able to take him in for breed while Jenny went on Karma. Fun having both kids in the ring together! Then after the dog show we headed over to the Jackson house to do some agility with Karma and her cousin Gunner. They were pretty cute doing jumps, but it was H-O-T and you shouldn’t practice jumping too long as it is taxing on their bodies. So after our jumping session, we took Gunner, Indy, and Karma over to the lake that was about a 5 minute walk from Heather’s house. We were thoroughly entertained as little Karma was splashing around more than swimming. Try picturing a girl in a pool trying to keep her hair dry in the deep end — that was our Karm! She was also the retriever extraordinaire. If anyone got distracted and left the toy out in the lake, Karmie would go out and get it for us. While we were down at the lake, Charlie was back at the house cooking up some amazing BBQ, so we arrived back to a perfect 4th of July BBQ!
Happy 4th!!