SaberTails

sJune2012

www.pbgv.org

13

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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