Andy proves to be very competitive and gets noticed in tough competition.  

Since Andy had hurt his shoulder area earlier this year after a show in Feb, I had decided to pull him from competition and let his muscles heal for about 6 months.  I entered him at the Great er Denver Dalmatian club specialties and all breeds Aug 14 - 16, 2009.  His sore shoulder muscle seemed to be healed and Andy showed fantastic.  He received an AOM under English breeder/judge Christina Pickup at the 1st specialty and was considered for the breed under Steve Hubble on Sunday. 

I decided to go to Dalmatian Club of Northern California in Dixon on Oct 23 - 25, 2009.  The Dixon show grounds, great weather and the nice Northern California Dal people are wonderful to see and very hospitable!   Since I missed DCA this year I wanted to see some old friends and new dogs in the ring.


The independent specialty was Oct 23 and was judged by Mr. Richard Beauchamp a total entry of 53. 
What a thrill ANDY WON!!!!! 
Andy is now BISS CH. NspirD Hollywood Legend.  Mr. Beauchamp comments on Andy while we were getting the photo "He is a beautiful dog with correct foot fall and timing to cadence.  He was wonderful cat feet and nice, strong boning...He looks like he could go for miles as a coach dog." 

The next day in Dixon Andy was were 1st AOM and on Sunday BOS. 

The following weekend at the Dalmatian Club of Southern California on 11/30/09.  The judge was breeder/judge Mr. Jeff Gillespie.  From the classes best of breed winner was "New CH."  and New "BISS" Z's NspirD Back in Black shown/bred by Kay Purchiss and co-bred with me.  Gibson is a lovely dog who also won Best in Sweeps at DCA '09 this year. 

Best veteran in Sweeps was "Olivia" CH. Trailside's Gold Mercedes shown by Jose.  Olivia is mom to Andy, Joey & Argus and looks fantastic at 11 years young.

First AOM was "Joey" Ch. NspirD SpotsAfire It's a Wrap and second AOM was "Andy" BISS Ch. NspirD Hollywood Legend.   BOS was an Andy kid named Ch. Driftwood Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

Other NspirD kids who showed very well and got noticed were: NspirD Noble Strider "Polo", NspirD Smooth as Silk "Chloe" brother sister.

 

 
and NspirD Candy Corn "Poppy" (her first show).
 

On Saturday Andy was BOB under judge Dr. John Shelton and went onto a Group 4 under breeder/judge Mrs. Anne Fleming and on Sunday Andy was BOB again under Mrs. Fleming.

Best of breed cut Ch. Andy, Ch. Joey, Ch. Tickled Pink (Jack Daughter), Ch. Skipper on Saturday - including WD/WB. Andy

It was a great weekend for the NspirD crew and I am so proud of all these kids!!!  This is the third year in a row that my breeding program had the BIG win at DCSC with a dog I owned or bred.  It is so rewarding to see the heart and soul efforts of a breeding program getting noticed and hearing the wonderful comments about these dogs...I am so proud.

I had a great group of friends but it seemed all they wanted to do was party.  I was a bit tired of that scene and wanted something different in my life.  I had always loved dogs and decided now was the time to have one in my life again.  My two roommates at the time said “go for it” but the dog is your responsibility and any destruction (we lived in a rented condo) caused by "your" dog is your responsibility also.  I could live with that.  So my search started.

 
I was considering these three dogs Weimaraner, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and the Dalmatian.  After doing my homework I thought the Dally suited my lifestyle best and since my dad had owned a Dal in his bachelor days that was my choice.  He said his Dal was the smartest dog he ever owned and used to tell many funny stories of the tricks he taught his Dal Cleo to do.  One was getting ice cold beer out of the bath tub for him and his buddies and bringing it to them at gatherings at Edwards AFB.  Cleo pictured below in 1959 came from TX.  My dad loved her.

I did my homework and started my quest in 1986 searching for my new show dog.  I was on a waiting list for 3 years with Daisydot Dalmatians just waiting for the right dog. 

 
I looked at many litters in those 3 yrs… One litter the gal wanted $700.00 for her pup’s because they had been in the Disney movie or commercial.  I went to see this litter and they were covered in dirt and kept in an outside shack area.  That price was really high for me especially in those days and I was just not impressed with the living conditions of the pups.  Another litter I looked at had many cute puppies (and maybe all liver) I had never seen a liver Dalmatian before and (YUK I did not like it at that time).  This still makes me chuckle today now all I want is a liver/white girl and I can't seem to find one.  That was my first time seeing a liver and I just could not get used to the idea of a brown and white dog and I think those spots were more orange than brown.  Liver do have varying shades of color.   

 
Daisydot kennels had a litter and I saw a pup I liked but the breeder would not part with her.  I think this was a litter bred to a Proctor dog.  I was beginning to get a little discouraged about my puppy quest.

 
About 6 months later I called about an ad in the Newspaper (lots of ads back then) I went to go see this litter in Norco.  I did not know but Norco was the back yard breeder capital of Southern Cal back then.  The gal told me the pedigree had many “CH” and many great dogs.  She had some info on the pups and many pedigrees…it was all a bit confusing to me.  I fell in love with a pup that had a speck of blue in her eye and decided she was mine.  I do remember but I was very naive about temperaments and Dalmatians in general at that time... the pups played really rough and were very vocal with one another while playing. 

Pictured R-Queenie, L-Skye-blue fleck in eye

I named my new puppy “Skye”.  Her AKC name "The Skye’s the Limit" born in 1989.  I eventually started taking Skye to local puppy matches.  I remember meeting many Dal enthusiasts but a gal named Lyra Partch was pretty friendly but told me my dog needed a lot of work.  It was probably a combo of dog and handler because I was pretty nervous also.  I also remember meeting some people that were not so nice.  I vowed to always try to be nice to new-comers based on those early experiences.    

 
Well, I eventually figured out that Skye was not a good candidate for AKC competition.    People kept telling me she was too long and had no type and well... she hated to show.  When I asked what “type” was they said read the standard?  Well…when I read the standard my interpretation was she had perfect spots….LOL.  I decided to quit showing Skye.  Her temperament wasn't that great either which I guess was kinda common for Dally’s in those days. 

 
I don’t know how, but I came up with the idea to breed her.  I thought if I bred her I could fix ALL her problems and come up with a puppy that would knock the sock off everyone!!

 
I found a dog who was a “CH” and a really nice gal named Cheri.  Her dog Ace had better markings, a better topline, and a pretty head and moved very nice.  I remember dragging my roommate and best friend Cathy with me for this breeding adventure.  What an experience...We should have had a glass of wine or a brewskie or something to prepare us for that one…

Well, pups were born (my first litter) in 1992.  I had 1 male and 7 girls all black and white spotted.  One pup died at birth.  It was a heart wrenching experience for me.  I did not expect it.  To be honest I can’t remember if I had the dewclaws removed on these pups and I know I did not BAER hearing test.  Cheri gave me lots of good advice on what to do but I was kinda on my own and just not sure what I needed to do.   
 

There were three cute girls in the litter but I liked pink and purple.  I kept purple because she was more opened marked.  I called her “Queenie”  TopDot’s Lucky Queen of Hearts.  No doubt about it she was my dog through and through.  She was 100% improvement of her mom.  My brother eventually took Skye to live with him. 

Lake Mathews KC puppy match--Carol & Mattie, Cheryl & Proctor Dappled- dog, Me & Queenie
I know I could have finished Queenie with much time, effort and money.  She did have some really nice qualities.  She did not really like to show like her mother.  So Queenie became my heart dog with all her quirks and fit into my life as a great pet and companion.  

Puppy match @ Orange County fair-Cheryl Proctor Dappled- pup, Michelle ??, Rich & Mattie, Carol & ??, Me & Queenie
  
Bring on the competition....

Meanwhile…I got Jack in 1994.  BIS/BISS (record holder) Ch. Tuckway Winged Foot, CGC.  I’ll save this story for my next chapter…stay tuned