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March 2008

Dear Irish Terrier Friends,

Crufts 2008 proved to be even more of a whirl than ever before.

I decamped for Stratford upon Avon for four days in order to help with our Discover Dogs stand. It is impossible to get up to the Birmingham NEC from London every day and in any case I love Stratford, walking by the river and catching up with old friends. I left Beegie and Zuli at home with their beloved dog sitter Mo. Although I missed them, it did leave me free to concentrate on the show. They have both turned eleven this month and Zu is beginning to feel the cold. They were given knitted pullovers for Christmas, one green and one orange, and actually wore them in the cold weather. Yes, I do know they’re supposed to be hardy, but waiting in the car can be shivery.

Now, back to Crufts. Manning the stand is not a dawdle but we have got very good at it now and it is a lot of fun. I suppose that talking non stop about ones most favourite topic for four days would always create a certain buzz, but it is the presence of the dogs that gives the real joy. They are simply wonderful ambassadors for the breed, so friendly and interested in everything, and the famous Irish charm is most amusing to watch. Discover Dogs has proved invaluable for our numerically small breed. It is important to raise their profile on every possible occasion. Only that way can we spread the good news about what fabulous dogs they are…not saints of course but we all know that! I missed the judging altogether this year which was a pity. The Irish time in the Ring clashed with the historic parade.

We did a splendid repeat performance of Tim the Railway Dog meeting our ‘look alike’ Queen Victoria. There was a fair amount of muddle and waiting around but everyone did so well and Chico paid Tim to perfection. He was a great hit with an Irish Water Spaniel who was more than flirtatious. Her embarrassed owner kept saying ‘she’s never like this, but she fancies him rotten…’. We really did laugh but fortunately Chico was not in the least bit put off his stride. Katerina and Stephanie played the pretty children who curtsied to the ‘Queen’. It was all very charming but I think that it worked better at Earls Court because of the smaller space. The Arena at the NEC is vast.

Both the tickets were won by dogs from abroad and the American dog won best of breed. He was in the last Terrier line up which was excellent. My little showgirl Maddie didn’t do particularly well but she loves the Show Ring and it seems had a very happy day.

I have been elected President of the Irish Terrier Association (again). It is an honour, but not especially demanding. Anyway I’ll do my best and it won’t be for lack of love…

It is rather fun to belong to the clubs as it does support our beloved breed and keeps us all in touch. We’re very proud of the new Southern Irish Terrier Society website (www.southernirishterriers.co.uk) so do have a look.

Many greetings, my love to the dogs,

Lucy