Capella's First Shows

I am camped out in Lucky at the Great Falls show. Lucky is our RV — what else would one name a Leprechaun?

Sparkle!

Lucky even has a personalized quilt to enhance the dog show luck…

Elizabethanne made that for me — note the lucky four-leaf clovers AND stars!

I am showing only Capella here and the intention is for her to have a fun first experience at shows. She was a bit bug-eyed at everything on Day One but that is to be expected — dog shows are a lot of everything — dogs, stress, noises, new places, grabby humans, smells, etc. — but she settled pretty quickly.

Sparkle and Claire are also with me. Two weeks ago Claire tore her right medial meniscus — this happens in about 4% of CCL repairs. Claire, apparently, drew yet another short straw…

And so Claire had surgery on Thursday and needed to come along so I could keep a close eye on her. This recovery will be quick — two weeks — but yes, another setback.

But Claire is doing just fine, Sparkle is having a blast, and Capella is exceeding the goal. This was Day One…

Yesterday was even better. She was relaxed, playful, happy and did her show dog thing beautifully.

Best of Breed yesterday was Chase Larkspur from the Wildflowers (Major x Daisy)!

Chase in the front and Capella (and me) behind him.

This is a small show and so it is perfect for what I am hoping to achieve — and it is in Montana so relatively close to home (200 miles). We show here today and tomorrow, and then head south to Helena for four more days of shows; Helena is a bigger show and there is a draft test as well so lots of Berners — and Berner Friends!

I hope you are enjoying ribbon-worthy fall weather wherever you are.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

We are at Yellowstone Dog Sports near Red Lodge, Montana for an agility trial. Daisy is a thoughtful, observant girl who takes everything in — she loves watching out from the RV window.

Daisy is not quite ready to qualify in agility — but she is ready to have some fun in the ring and so she debuts tomorrow.

While we are away, a restoration company is cleaning up the mess at home from this little misadventure…

The water supply line to the dishwasher was loose and has been dripping for weeks, apparently just now reaching saturation such that it dripped down into the room below and up through our new kitchen floor.

The dishwasher, still under warranty, was repaired about five weeks ago by a local appliance company. Unless they are prepared to assert that my talented dogs (or cunning cats) were able to loosen that connector, it appears that the evidence points to a simple failure to adequately tighten that connector after the repair.

Mistakes happen and yes, they often cause issues for others. It is so much easier to deal with human imperfection with grace and understanding when people own their mistakes and do what is needed to make things right. I hope the appliance company — or their insurance company — shares that observation.

Happy Friday!