Feb. 27 - Lisa's Musings (from a dog show) and Every Day Life

As the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m., today I woke up thinking there's nothing like starting a DAY OFF at o'dark-thirty.

On a work day, it would take a heck of a story to get me out of bed at this hour.

I don't do mornings -- except occasionally -- for a dog show.

Making it worse was I woke up with an upset tummy -- a condition that stayed with me ALL day. But I didn't let that deter me.

My friend, Nancy, arrived at 6:30 a.m. right on schedule and we were off.

We left Driver's older brother, Ryan, and her dog, Banjo, here to enjoy a relaxing day doing whatever dogs do when we're not here watching them.

Slip-sliding away down North Territorial, going 35 mph at top speed, we were headed to the Ann Arbor Dog Training Club for Driver's second time at a United Kennel Club Dog Show, aka a UKC conformation show.

Dog show people are frustrated movers. We bring everything but the kitchen sink to dog shows. Chairs, coolers full of cold drinks and food, large bags fulled with snack food, a grooming box, a crate for the dog, a jug of water, show clothes, extra shoes ... the list goes on.

So, the trick is to get there early -- so you get a good spot inside the building and a parking spot that's reasonably close to a door.

Because I got up before the sun, we were successful with both of those quests.

And then the waiting begins.

Which seems to go on forever.

Or a good couple of hours, anyway.

And this is why all that stuff we bring, including a book, comes in handy.

Except, I forgot something really important this time -- a brush for the dog.

Now, you have to understand, Tollers are a long-haired breed and this was a canine beauty contest. All hair is supposed to be brushed.

Would a pageant contestant ever forget a brush?

You really want to untangle and smooth out a long-haired canine's coat before you head into the conformation ring.

If this were a bigger show, the fact that I forgot THE MOST IMPORTANT item of the day wouldn't be a big deal. I could buy another one from one of the vendors.

This wasn't that kind of show. There weren't any vendors.

So, we made due with a comb. Not the best item for getting through a long coat, but Driver didn't know any better. He just liked all the attention he was getting.

Brush? Comb? He's all about the food in this stand-and-eat-food competition.

And he had a great time today, showing twice, and taking Best of Breed both times.

He didn't place in the group either time, but he showed his little puppy heart out.

Driver just turned a year old this month and he still needs to grow up a little bit, but not too fast. We're enjoying this journey together.

And his time will come because there's lots of dog shows in his future.

Including tomorrow.

So when we got home, he played with his dog friends and I suppose, told them all about his day.

I, on the other hand, found the brush and immediately packed it in the grooming box in the van.

Tomorrow's another early morning ... but not AS early a morning.

I'll be getting up an hour later this time.

Still, it's a slightly silly way to spend a perfectly good Sunday.

But that's OK, Monday's a work day, so I can sleep in.