Ava showed up on the current UKC standings as tied for #3! How neat is that?

Ava - CH Lin-Kel Nanteos Cariad - 18 months

Dori was Best Puppy in Match today under judge Nancy Self at the Huntsville Kennel Club’s B match. She was almost having too much fun to remember how show girls act, but kept it together somewhat.

KeelMtn Bless Your Heart - 7 months

And lest you think her life is all work and no play, here’s a typical moment in the day of Dori.

Surely there's some food morsels left for me!

Let me tell you, Indiana is HOT in July!

Since I had a free weekend, I decided to enter the girls in UKC’s PREMIER (yes, always in caps). It’s their biggest show of the year and their version of Eukanuba. They have a Top Ten competition for the dogs ranked in the Top Ten from the past year, there is Junior Showmanship competition, agility, obedience, rally, dock-diving, weight-pull, many specialties, and probably lots of other stuff I forgot or didn’t know about as well as three days of all-breed shows. This is a big deal! I’m usually an AKC-type, using UKC occasionally for ring practice and puppy socialization. I’m not the only one; I see lots of folks I know from AKC shows and some judges as well. The atmosphere is much more laid back and slow-paced, there are no professional handlers, and most of all – no grooming products! No chalk and mousse, no hairspray, no poodle wigs, no kidding. You can’t take a comb or brush in the ring and it’s up to the judges whether or not they want to allow bait.

So anyway, we packed up the Excursion and north we went. It was worth the 8 hour trip! First of all, Tara KEELMTN ALL GUSSIED UP finally got to meet and go home with her new owner, Robin, who has the UKC #1 ranked Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Am. Ch., GRCH Desprado Louisville Slugger. I can’t wait to hear what fabulous things are in store for Tara in the Great Southwest!

So proud of my girls – here’s what we did at PREMIER:

DORI – Reserve Best Female and Best Female (at a week shy of 7 months from the Breeder/Handler class)

Dori - KeelMtn Bless Your Heart

JUNE – Best Female all 3 days and one Best of Winners (at 12 months from the Jr. Female class)

June - Allegro Celestial Charm

AVA – Champion of Champions 2 days and then Best of Breed over 3 other champions and 7 grand champions, several who are Top Ten ranked and some AKC champions (at 18 months old)

Ava - Lin-Kel Nanteos Cariad

And PHOEBE at 9+ years - Altered Best of Breed all 3 days, Altered Herding Group Two twice, and then won the Altered Herding Group!

Phoebe - Multi Ch. Tri-umph Tender Promise CD, RE, CGC, TDIA, TT

That 8 hour trip home didn’t take any time at all!

Ah, the beautemous Junie B, now only 3 singles away from her championship!

(What I was thinking about when this picture was taken, I have no idea. My mother would have said not to make that face, it’ll freeze that way.)

“Jill” was an owner turn-in slated for euthanasia at a Tuscaloosa shelter before she was pulled by rescue. We are fostering until a forever home is found. Jill is an older girl (about 7+ years old in a breed who routinely live 16-18+ years). She is spayed, microchipped, current on all vaccinations, and is on heartworm preventative. Jill weighs about 10 pounds. She is free of internal and external parasites. Jill is fine with baths, blow-drying, and nail care. She will walk on a lead, seems house-trained, and gets along with the other dogs at her foster home. No signs of aggression or fear. She is very sweet and mild and enjoys being with both women and men. Jill would like to be someone’s couch-potato or bed-buddy. She is definitely an inside pet. Jill has recently had her teeth cleaned and been professionally groomed. An application and interview are required as well as a modest adoption fee to partially cover expenses.
 
If you are or know of someone who wants to share their hearts and home with Jill, please contact me at (256) 655-1789 or (256) 776-0005 or leslie@keelmtn.com.

Abbie’s – KeelMtn Tri-umph Twitterpated – first show was the Mayflower Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club’s specialty show where she placed 2nd in her class under breeder-judge Gayle Garvin! Congrats to owners Kathi and Jeff Powers, co-owner/co-breeder Marian Your, and thanks to handler/bad puppy wrangler <g> Melody Kist! So proud!

Waiting for photos, and despite the oppressive heat and humidity, we had fun in Hattiesburg! Bob worked like a slave to get the travel trailer clean and in good repair, and we packed up everyone (except old lady Pennie and her sidekick Molly Kate who stayed behind at the spa) and made the six hour journey to southern Mississippi.

June was the STAR of the weekend, winning 3 of 3 days Winner’s Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex! (Note to the woman eating a very crinkly bag of potato chips ringside – you are not our friend! <grr>) June now has 12 points with both majors at just 12 months old with very limited showing.

Bob was asked to take in a German Shepherd Dog and committed the cardinal sin of taking him to Best of Breed. His owner wasn’t happy  – he wanted the girl he stayed on to win – but Bob did a great job, looking very professional considering it was his second time ever in the ring and with shepherds you have to RUN! It was a hoot in any case.

By Sunday, Dori, Dixe, and Tara decided that they actually COULD make it around the ring with all four feet on the ground! They had a grand time and think dog shows are the best! Thanks for all the kind words from everyone who were able to see beyond the puppy silliness and appreciated their potential.

MAJOR congratulations to Linda Muglach who got a Group One with her girl, Winnie, on Sunday! I think Linda was the only owner-handler in the Herding Group. What a great job!

Jill needs a forever home!

Okay, so she’s not a corgi. Jill is a Yorkshire Terrier who was about to be euthanized at the Tuscaloosa shelter. A rescue contact asked me on Wednesday if we could foster her. Since we planned to pass right through Tuscaloosa on the way to the Hattiesburg shows the following day, it seemed as though it was meant to be. She still needs a decent haircut – what does a corgi person know about cutting Yorkie hair? – and a teeth cleaning, both of which will be done before she is placed, but otherwise, she is simply a lovely girl. Jill had no problem with me giving her a bath, and another bath, and a blow dry, and then proceeded directly onto the travel trailer sofa where, except for overnights in our bed <g>, she spent the rest of the weekend. Jill is up-to-date on shots, spayed, microchipped, seems housebroken, walks on a leash, and gets along with everybody at my house. Are you in need of a lap-warmer?

Koda at 6 months

Our Chris x Cheery litter turned 6 months old on Sunday! Hard to believe and I guess feeling that way makes me old, but time flies. I have to get out of the habit of referring to them as babies. The living room is no longer a nursery, thank doG, and the young dogs are learning their place in the world. The ones now living elsewhere are learning their places in their worlds as well, and by all acccounts, life is good!

Silly Koda!

From the July issue of Bloodlines: