Finally time to dip my toes back into the AKC pool with a brief trip to Texarkana with a couple of Borzoi, Rusti and Barbee. I didn’t make the shows in Denton – sent Victor instead – so it was kinda nice to get back out again. Even better since I was sharing a room with longtime-no-see friend Rebecca!! We met up at the show site a little after 8 in the evening, trying to find the ever-so-rare space for grooming. Rebecca had started to set up along a wall, and while I had gone out to the van to load up the dolly with my crates and other paraphernalia, the Show Chairman had come up and told her that the area needed to be kept clear. She then had Rebecca follow her down the aisle and then moved some folks’ very spread out space together where we could fit in our 3 crates, grooming table and chairs. Yay us! It’s also just across the aisle from the ladies’ restroom – bonus!
We then headed out to the hotel – Motel 6 of course! She had made reservations at the Texas location for $5 cheaper than the Arkansas location (so much fun in a “split” city), and I can certainly understand the penny pinching! There was very little grass for walking the dogs though – along the side of the motel it was primarily rock with some grass growing here and there through it, and the occasional shrub placed here and there, which worked for Rusti (the joy of male dogs). Barbee on the other hand, went on “pee strike.” Hardly any floor space in the room for 2 ex-pens – so they got arranged in interesting shapes to fit the floorplan. I was a bit surprised since we only had 1 queen bed – will have to remember this for the future. We got everyone in, fed, and settled for the night.
Morning came way too bright and early. 845 am ringtime – not my idea of proper show scheduling! Once arrived I got Barbee on the table and got her properly groomed and brushed out. Then it was Rusti’s turn and he needed to be wet down and blown dry to try and fix his “bed body” (as opposed to “bed head”). Then we trudged on down to ringside. Rebecca introduced me to a lovely woman at ringside with her pretty red/white male. Of course I have forgotten her name since then, since I am so awful with names, but she was kind enough to babysit Barbee while I was showing Rusti. We managed to win the Bred by Exhibitor class, and then we were awarded Winners Dog! So then it was Barbee’s turn to strut (or in her case, a tendency to plod – she’s not much for the show game). She managed to win the Open class of 3 – so I was pretty happy. She then garnered yet another Reserve Winners Bitch to a lovely tri bitch from Bred by. So back in for Best of Breed with Rusti. The “guaranteed A/C” was wearing a bit thin by now, despite the early hour. The four specials were put through their paces, then we went round again and stacked up. Ms. Purkhiser then pulled Rusti out behind her breed winner – Best of Winners for a crossover major from the bitch side! 4 points!
Barbee finally took a pee on the way out to the van – thank goodness. We had pre-arranged a get together for an early dinner at Fat Jack’s Oyster Bar – something that Trestina Gilbert’s hubby had found, and it sounded pretty good. We had time to kill, so set up in the hotel room with our laptops and attempted to be productive. That lasted about 10 minutes for me before I opted to take a little nap. Suddenly my phone rang and it was Leslie – “y’all coming?” What?!?! It was 4 o’clock already! Rebecca had ended up napping as well – so it was up and at ’em for both of us! We found Fat Jack’s – covered in various advertising signs, it was a bit conspicuous. Less so it’s entry, as we walked by the front door thinking it was a side entrance for employees. After walking in I was a bit apprehensive since we were walking round and round in an un-air conditioned area, then we went through another pair of doors into a dark, blissfully cool area and found the rest of our party. I could not make up my mind for dinner. I would have loved the ribeye with creole topping, but the $26 price tag is off limits at the moment – I was doing good affording the hotel room split. Maybe next time – I’m fairly sure there will be a next time in Texarkana. I settled on the crawfish tail basket – later realized I should have settled on the seafood crepes since they looked delicious.
Next morning dawned bright and shiny and warm. Another uberearly ringtime, which is much more welcome on the last day, but still. Rusti repeated his BBE win and Winners Dog win. Rebecca’s boy Simon was the Reserve this time around. He is a Vlad son (Ch. Gryffyn’s Aeyrie Revelation) – so part of the family! Barbee also repeated her class win and Reserve – she’s really trying to set a Reserve record, I think. Ms. Muthard declined to share the wealth(in looking over my records, it seems standard procedure for her, even with deserving dogs), so Rusti just got 2 points. So Rusti now stands at 12 points and 2 majors – here’s hoping for some success in Dallas! I had rushed off so quickly the previous day that I forgot to get a win picture, so I managed to find Ms. Purkhiser and got a picture snapped.
For those interested in Fat Jack’s – it is delightfully yummy. That link will take you to a Facebook page – I can’t believe they do not have a website. Maybe they should hire me!!
