Panchen question..

Gail asked: Wondered what it was like for Panchen after he had his surgery and he couldn’t see at all, what was his mental status?

Panchen couldn’t see at all before his surgery, so the only change was in his spirit. He was back to his old self. The headaches must have been awful. The morning after his surgery, he’d already started his Panny Dance. It was only in retrospect I realized I hadn’t seen that for months. His surgery was done by a specialist. One of the reasons I went to Dr. Hammond rather than my own vet was to learn if he had any vision. Not sure what, if any, options I would have had if there was some vision. He was completely blind. One of the reasons glaucoma is diagnosed much earlier in people is the headaches. A dog can’t tell you about headaches; a person knows. The pressure that builds up in the eyeball creates the headaches. So, to answer your question, his mental status was much improved after surgery. He hadn’t been able to see for ??? a few weeks prior to surgery. The surgery relieved his pain. For that, he was happy!

Amusing encounter

Two of the Gompa dogs live with Gigi. She recently sent the following:

My daughter Whitney, who moved to Portland from Ohio a few months ago, and I were in Dundee, OR, doing the winery circuit, and we stopped at the Dundee Cafe for lunch.  We had the boys with us at an outdoor table and of course everyone was saying “How Cute.” 

A couple came up and asked about the dogs, and I said they were Tibetan Apsos, similar to Lhasas, but a bit different, which I find easier than saying Gompas because people go “Huh?”.  And the husband was looking a bit askance, and asked where they came from.  I said one had come from a Buddhist retreat in Virginia, and the other from a breeder in Colorado.  So the wife says “Debby Rothman?”  

They are Jan and Larry Bruton, who have Lhasas from you but no Gompas.  *Very* small world!

Small world, indeed! Slight correction, Jan and Larry have Lhasas, but not from me. Jan judged the breed recently in MN and is currently secretary of the American Lhasa Apso Club. Larry is former president of ALAC.

Loki: A Life of Courage

I received this, along with the tribute, last week and, with Ted’s permission, am sharing it.  

 I recently came upon your website as I conducted did a search for information about the lineage of two Lhasa Apsos that were part of our family. I first became acquainted with Lhasa Apsos in the Tibetan village of Upper Dharamsala, India (McCleod Ganj) where I lived for a period of time in 1973-74. After my return to Canada I maintained close contact with the Tibetan community in Canada, and later became involved in Tibetan cultural affairs.

 In 1989, during the first visit to Ottawa by the Dalai Lama, my wife and I met Gerry D’Aoust during private audience with His Holiness, where he had come to present a pair of Lhasa Apsos puppies to His Holiness as a gift. My wife and I were quite taken with the exceptional beauty of these dogs, and sometime later, in the autumn of 1990, we purchased two beautiful Lhasa Apsos from Gerry.

Because of our association with Tibetans, we understood the significance of the lineage of our dogs, who we named Tashi (male) and Loki (female), and who were two beautiful little Gompa Lhasa Apsos. At the time that we purchased the dogs, Gerry was hopeful that we would eventually be able to have the dogs registered, but this never happened. A number of years ago I did send an email to the monastery  where Gerry’s dogs were first transferred, to try to get information from the registry, but received no response at that time. Although both dogs are now deceased, I would still like to have a record of their parentage as far back as the records show, at least to Gerry original breeding stock imported from Nepal and India. I am hoping that you are able to help me. 

Loki was a white and black female, and Tashi was a beautiful red-tipped golden male. They were a sister and brother from the same litter, of 4 if I recall correctly. The father was Ngo-Su, but I do not recall the mother’s name. This is part of the information that I am trying to find out, and I am therefore inquiring to see if your organization may have copies of the records which Gerry D’Aoust kept of his litters from that time. Or if not, would you know who has those records. I have also attempted to contact Gerry but have no received a reply as yet.

 On a final note, Loki passed away this week, just a few months short of her 17th birthday.  I have written a tribute (below) to this precious little being who brought us great joy, along with her brother Tashi who left us 5 years ago, at the age of 12.

 I have also attached a series of pictures of our dog that may be of interest to you, including one taken of the puppies at seven weeks old! You can see the resemblance of Loki’s (black and white) facial coloring to some of the dogs shown in early photos taken in Tibet and Nepal.

 Sincerely,

 Ted Paull

Read Ted’s tribute and see more photos.

Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program Raffle

The local Lhasa Apso club is raffling two items to benefit the Gompa dogs. Here’s the info that went out in the club’s show information.

For more information and to see the watercolor ‘in color’

You can purchase tickets via snail mail or online. I would appreciate feedback if you use the online shopping cart, since this is the first time I’ve set up something like this.

Apsos on the Mountain Invite