SaberTails
sJune2012
www.pbgv.org
13
E
venthoughitwasanunusuallywarmand
snow-freewinterintheNortheast,itwasstill
delightfultoflytoArizonainearlyMarchfor
thisyear’sPBGVCANationalandWesternRegional
specialtyshow.Igotthereearlyintheweek
becausethereweretwodaysofagilitytrialsheld
atafacilityabout15minutesawayfromthe
showhotel.JulietFranzenorganizedandchaired
theagilitytrial,freeingSuzanneDouglassto
concentrateontheeventsattheshowhotel.
Spendingthebetterpartoftwodays,from
morningintotheafternoonintheArizonasun,
andwatchingclubmembersandtheirdogs
runninganagilitycourse,isaprettygoodwayto
decompressfromthestressesofwork.PBGVsare
oftennotregardedasoptimumcandidatesfor
agilitycompetition,andittakesalotofwork
forhandleranddogtobecomeproficient.At
anationalspecialtywhere“it’sjustus,”wecanappreciatewhat
ourmembershavebeenabletoachievewiththeirPBGVs.The
clubcan’talwaysofferagilityatanationalspecialty,andit’s
nicewhenwecan.Therewasanicegroupofhandlersanddogs
plusagoodgalleryofonlookers.Everyoneenjoyedthemselves
andsawwhatfunagilitycanbe.
Thisyearwasthesecondtimewehavehadanationalin
Mesa,butthefirsttimewewereatagolfresort.Idon’tknow
ifanyclubmemberstookadvantageofthegolffacilities,but
havingallthatgreengrassnearuswascertainlyrefreshing.
IappreciatedtheseminarsheldonThursday.RobynWallis
andJaniceHayesgaveaveryinterestingpresentationon
grooming.Oneofthebestthingsaboutitwasthatthetwo
presentersdidnotalwaysagree.GroomingthePBGVhas
alwaysbeenasomewhatcontroversialtopic;peoplewilldiffer
inthetechniquesandequipmenttheyuse.Followingthatwas
aBack-to-Basicspresentationonbreeding,organizedbyHelen
Ingher,withseveralbreedersexplaininghowtheygotinvolved
withbreedingandourbreed,andwhattheyaredoingand
tryingtoaccomplish.Again,itwasrefreshingtohaveanumber
ofdifferentpointsofviewanddifferentexperiencesthatled
thememberstobreedPBGVs.
Theshowitselfransmoothly,thankstoSuzanneDouglass,
hercommitteeandotherswhopitchedintodowhatneededto
bedone.AstrangeglitchsurfacedonSaturdayafternoonwhen
someonetookagoodlookatthenationalspecialtyribbonsand
foundthatmosthadthenameoftheclubprintedwrong,with
“Vendéen”and“Griffon”transposed.Replacementribbonsare
beingmadebythemanufacturerandaretobesenttoeach
personwinningaribbon.
Attheshow,specialrecognitionplaqueswereawardedto
MeganEsherickandRalphHattox.Meganhaslongbeenactive
inmanyfacetsoftheclub’sactivities.Shewasajuniorhandler
yearsago,hassincebeenaclubofficerandhasshowndogsin
conformation,obedience,rally,agilityandhunt.Shehasbeen
instrumentalinthedevelopmentoftheclub’shuntactivities
andpitchesintohelpinmanyways,largeandsmall.This
year,whenDottieAllenwasunabletotraveltoMesa,Megan
handledtheresponsibilitiesoftheagilityshowsecretary.Ralph
hasbeenveryhelpfulinmanyoftheclub’sactivities,oftenin
behind-the-scenesroles.HewasofimmensehelptoBobbe
Jacksonwithlastyear’snationalinCharlotte.
Serviceplaqueswerealsoawardedtothose
folksleavingtheboardofrirectors:Dottie
Allen(director),LindleyHenson(vice
president),JoQuintenz(director)andMike
Williquette(correspondingsecretary).Taking
theirplacesinJulywillbeSandyBustin
(director),HelenIngher(corresponding
secretary),LindaMurray(vicepresident)and
IngridaRobinson(director).VickieWillmann
willcontinueontheboardwithanotherterm
asdirector.LindaMurrayisgoingtobebusy,
asLaurenKovaleffdecidedtostepdownas
presidentofthePBGVHealth&Rescue
Foundation.LindawillbethenewFoundation
president.Thankstoalltheoutgoingofficers
anddirectorswhohavegivensomuchof
themselvestotheclubandthebreed!
Thenationalspecialtyshow’sauctions
aremajorfundraisersforboththeclubandthePBGVHealth&
RescueFoundation.Wehaveexperimentedwithdifferent
formats,usingsilentandliveauctions,andtryingtolimitthe
numberofitemsintheliveauctionsothattheeventdoesnot
runsolate.Thisyearinsteadofitsusualsilentauctionthe
FoundationencouragedPBGVpeoplefromaroundthecountry,
membersofPBGVCAandothers,tocontributelocalitemstoa
“basket”foreachstate.JulieShannoncoordinatedtheeffort.
Eachstatehadacoordinatortoputthatstate’sbaskettogether.
Contributionsfrom37statesandCanadawereonhand,with
“baskets”rangingfromacrateoverloadedwithgoodies(Texas,
naturally)toasimplebag(ofpotatoesfromIdaho).Thiswasa
remarkableproject,verywell-executed.
***
CharAllmann,chairofourLegislativecommittee,attended
anAKCconferenceinJanuary.OneofthethingsAKCstrongly
recommendedwasforparentclubstoestablishaFacebook
presence.SoPBGVCAhasjoinedtheFoundationinhaving
itsownFacebookpage(theFoundationbeatustoit!).Gina
LindseyandCindyWiltareinchargeofthepage,butthe
natureofFacebookallowsparticipationandcommentsfrom
many.Ifyouhavesomeinformationyouwantposted,please
contactGinaorCindy.Thisinnowayreplacesourregular
website,whichisenormouslydeepwithinformationbutisnot
designedforreaderparticipation.
IfyougetamessagefromCharalertingyoutostateor
locallegislativeinitiativesthatcanhaveanaffect(positiveor
negative)ondogownershiporbreeding,pleaserespondquickly
totheappropriatelegislators.Well-thought-outindividual
e-mailsfrompeoplewithpersonalknowledgeofasubjectcan
beveryeffectiveincombatinglegislativeproposalsspawnedby
groupswhichdon’thaveourbestinterestsatheart.Oftentime
isshort,sopleasedon’tdelay.Andifyoufindoutyourself
aboutsuchplannedlegislation,pleasesendyourthoughtsto
appropriatelegislators.Democracycanwork,especiallyona
locallevel,whenwell-informedcitizensparticipate.
***
Ihavementionedbeforethatmycommunitywasnot
preparedtohousepetsduringanemergencythatdeveloped
inDecember2008whenanicestormknockeddowntreelimbs
andpowerlines,resultinginnopower—continuedonpage30
ByBobCohen
FromthePresidents