Julie judging at the Reno Kennel Club

Posted: June 11, 2007 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: Apso Aficionados | Tags: Julie Timbers | Leave a comment

Vickie recently received this photo and the following comment regarding Julie’s judging:

I was very impressed with Julie’s judging, she totally went over the dog and watched each dog all the way around the ring when it was its turn. There are so many judges out there that either fault judge or just have one thing they seem to look at, or just a pretty picture…these dogs are not stuffed animals they should be able to climb, run, move and maintain; there is a dog under these pretty coats–it seems sometimes that some of them never get beyond the pretty picture. We need more judges out there that look at the total dog, any that do so really impress me.

Run Roman Run

Roman – Champion FFT Veni Vidi Vici – has begun competing in agility with his owner Mary. Click here to see more photos of him running the course!

Rescuers use teddy bears to train

Posted: June 9, 2007 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: Apso Aficionados | Tags: Debby Rothman | Leave a comment

Last weekend, AEV, a group I train with made the local news on KUSA-TV.

BAILEY – Stuffed animals are helping rescuers prepare for any disaster.

On Saturday, The Colorado State Animal Response Team (SART) prepared for wildfire season in Park County. The group’s motto is “Any disaster. Any animal. Anywhere.”

“(We are) going through the motions so that when it actually does happen you have some experience of doing it, it’s not completely foreign,” said Dianna Whitlock with Animal EVAC Volunteers.

Volunteers had to find specific houses and then rescue a list of “pets.” They would find stuffed animals hiding behind rocks or in tall grasses.

“When there is a fire or another disaster, it is going to be very stressful. We’ll be dealing with live animals, not stuffed animals, and it kind of helps to have some knowledge of how it worked,” Whitlock said.

SART is working to establish more training programs around the state. The group says it is critical to be ready to protect people and animals during natural disasters or terror attacks.

“It’s been shown with Katrina and a lot of these other big disasters that people will not evacuate if they can’t take their animals with them,” Whitlock said.

The program was started in North Carolina after Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Countless animals were victims of the flooding.

As a result, several state agencies came together to put a plan in place for the next disaster. Volunteers helped evacuate many animals during the Hayman fire in 2002.

Colorado’s program is part of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation. SART is forging a statewide coalition between state government, non-government organizations, industry and volunteers.

There will be seven training sessions in the month of June around the state.

The group is looking for more volunteers.

To see the video:

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=71211

(Copyright KUSA*TV)

10 reasons why you might not want an Apso

Posted: June 9, 2007 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: Apso Aficionados | Leave a comment

You may not want to get an Apso if:

You want to be in charge. Apsos are in charge. The sooner you realize this truth the better off you are.
You must think you are smarter than the dog. The average human IQ is about 100, the Apso above 150. Do not cross wits with an Apso.
You think you know how to train a dog. Apsos are Zen masters; they will train you.
You want to feed your dog manufactured pet food. He does not like corn. He does not like veggies. He is a meat eater.
You want a dog you can choose to ignore until you decide to give him attention. Apsos refuse to be ignored.
You do not want a dog with an attitude. Apsos will be alternately happy, sad, playful, angry, mischievous, and over-exuberant, but never mean. Just don’t cross him, or he will leave you a present on the floor!
You want a dog that will sleep through a burglary. Unfamiliar sounds in the middle of the night will elicit the “wake the Mastiff” alarm bark from your Apso. You will wake up, believe me!
You do not want a dog that will sleep on “your” pillow when you are trying to use it. He has decided that it is HIS pillow!
You do not want a friend for life. If he chooses to love you, you will belong to him, not the other way around.
You expect your dog to come when you call him. Apsos will come when they are damn good and ready! You got that?