I finally made it home, and my neighbor brought me all my mail. I haven't even sorted through it all yet, but I did find a big yellow envelope in the stack. It's another first for Hawk. Last year, it was his first invite to Eukanuba. I remember how exciting that was and even getting the invite this year for Eukanuba was a thrill. And this year, currently ranked as the #1 Swedish Vallhund, Hawk earned his first invitation to Westminster. While I did show him some this year, and together we earned about 1/8th of his total breed points, I have to give credit where credit is due.
First, Hawk is a handsome dude (not that I'm biased), and of course his outstanding breed type, balanced structure, his exuberance, and his showy attitude have taken him a long way this year. However, this has been a very hectic year for me with my job, and there was no way I could travel to dog shows the way I did last year. So, for small blocks of time throughout this year, Sherri Hurst has been Hawk's handler, groomer, and best friend. She has been a very good sport about having Hawk sporadically, and every time she takes him in the ring, she is dedicated to my dog. Hawk adores Sherri, and I know that he's very happy when he is with her. I can tell, because when I have the chance to catch up with my dog at a show, he is happy to see me, but he is definitely more interested in Sherri. I try to tell myself it's because she's got a pocket full of liver. Ha! I know that Hawk would never be so devoted and loyal to Sherri if he did not love being with her. He is buddies with all of her dogs, and Lauren tells me that Hawk thinks *all* the other dogs at Sherri's are *HIS* dogs. :-) That doesn't surprise me a bit and I'm pretty sure that Pearl the Pembroke is sweet on Hawk.
So, thank you to Sherri, Lauren (Hawk might love Lauren even a bit more than he loves Sherri), Susan (who showed him perfectly in the Herding Group several times), and David (for putting up with the little yapper and showing him to one of his group placements) for your team effort in showing Hawk for part of 2008. And to our friend Don, who showed Hawk to his very first group placement in January, and who has shown Hawk on several occasions right from the start, we are also grateful. Whether or not Hawk gets to go to Westminster in February, I'm proud to say the "Tailed Vallhund" is mine.
Then the show was on...
And tonight, the big super star is totally sacked out on MY pillow at the hotel, snoring. He's so sophisticated! 
