Stahlke Adoption

International Kennel Club

On Saturday, I attended a dog show, my first since 1975 when I won a ribbon with my Sheltie in Houston. That experience was all about obedience exercises. This time, I wanted to explore the world of conformation, in which dogs are judged by their closeness to a breed standard.

The announcer blared that a tour would start at 11:00 am, and I was the only taker. For 30 minutes, an AKC (American Kennel Club) expert explained the ins and outs of conformation. But before leaving later that day, I discovered my secret reason for attending: to find dogs that looked like Chessie, White Blossom, Kelpie, Alabama, and Dakota. I miss them, and seeing animals with their looks and mannerisms intrigued me. Dachsunds, Shelties, Basenjis, and Norwegian Elkhounds filled the bill for most of my dogs. Only White Blossom was too broad in origin to have a look-alike. The AKC, however, has started a program allowing mixed-breed dogs to enter their various obedience competitions. Yes!

While I didn't take photos on Saturday, some web surfing today produced the following (top) photo of a Basenji. While the (bottom) photo of Alabama was taken in her old age, the similarity in looks is still striking. And I can assure you that for most of her life she possessed in spades the joie de vivre evident in the top photo.

posted by Stahlkes @ 12:01 PM