Vikki the Toy Poodle won best in show at the National Dog Show (by Purina, naturally) yesterday. I'm not a huge fan of dog shows. But at the same time, these guys probably eat better and have better luggage - and definitely a more expensive hairdresser - than I do, so it's really the high drama and elitist emphasis that skeeves me out more than anything (just like in the creepy-to-me netherworld of beauty pageants with human beings parading around on stage in their bathing suits for "scholarships".) The show was on when I was at the gym, and I got sucked in, though, because unlike the highly-polished girls with an excess of hairspray and random answers to questions about saving the world, the dogs essentially do what dogs do - they walk around and look cute. The people handling them are the ones who have to worry and run around beside them and pray the judge will like their teeth (the dogs' teeth, that is.) Weird. But enough from me...behold the most incredible Poodle hair ever.
Here's where I got the photo, and some more information about her.
The sight of her makes me giggle, because she looks like a depressed 13 year old who just got an updo for Homecoming. Another highlight was watching a Pekingese much like this one
waddle around the ring. He looked like Sigmund the Sea Monster.
The people who bothered me the most were the announcers, just like those who bother me on any competition, as they nattered on about their own personal feelings about who should win, and how conflicted they felt about choosing, and oh, by the way, "BUY YOUR DOGS FROM A BREEDER. A GREAT BREEDER. THEY DO THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON HOW TO HAVE THE HEALTHIEST, HAPPIEST DOG. THEY DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF THE ANIMALS. THEY DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THAT AN AWARD-WINNING DOG CAN PULL IN. BUY FROM A BREEDER. DO YOU HEAR ME????"
Sorry for the caps (and the paraphrasing, a little...), but I was reading along with the closed-captioning since I was at the gym, and that's how I experienced it. I know there are some good and reputable breeders out there who care about animals, and for whom the breed they specialize in is their life's passion and work. I understand. And I know cool people and responsible people, and sometimes cool and responsible people, who have gotten their dogs from breeders, so as with most things, there are two sides that have their pros and cons. But dog rescue (for discarded purebreds also, and especially, given my experience with my Bostons) is something I feel really strongly about. So cuteness and light aside, I'm not as concerned with giving cosseted first chances to dogs who are more likely get them anyway. I'm more concerned about the dog the man bought for his wife for Christmas (dumb) as a surprise (dumber) because it was a trendy breed with a French name (dumbest) and then it ended up in a shelter in February because it peed on her carpet. Most rescue groups are not the militant, cliched variety. Most give up their time and money to provide transportation, food, lodging, and often exorbitant medical bills to keep abandoned animals alive and to place them in a decent home. I really wish that Purina would give some of what has to be a crazy advertising budget for this show to rescue groups for the breeds that are highlighted.
That would be really swell of them.
Meanwhile, behold an animal who would be laughed out of the ring, as 
he got a sympathy diploma from puppy kindergarten. He gets a blue ribbon from me, regardless.
(And in a little parting bit of odd dog news. If you're not careful, even the Army will keep track of your dog.)
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