ON THE SPOT - MASSTANA'S GERMAN SHEPHERDS

I like interviewing people for my blog that are not just the big name kennels and breeders but also the smaller breeders and exhibitors that have made their own contributions to the breed. Today my interview is with John and Nancy Vaught of Masstana�s kennels in Richfield, Connecticut.

I have been friends with John and Nancy Vaught for many years�..probably going all the way back in the mid-late 70�s. We belonged to the same club (The German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater New Haven), we showed our dogs together often sitting together at the shows. We had supper at one another's homes and had some great times together at �Dog Show� parties. Probably my most fond memories is those times that I spent with Nancy when she and I would get together a few times a week and exercised our dogs by taking them to this huge reservation. It was good for the dogs and it was good for us. Sadly those days are behind as. I�ve moved from their area, but when I think of the time I�ve spent in this breed, these two people will always hold a special spot in my �memory bank� and heart. Thank you John and Nancy for taking the time to do this interview with me.


1) When did you two become involved in the German Shepherd breed and why did you choose this breed to own?

Nancy and I loved Rin Tin and Bullet (Roy Rodgers dog) so when it came time to get a dog, this is the direction we went. We got our first German Shepherd (a 4 month old white male puppy) the same year that we got married in 1964. We did not know anything about whipworm or hookworm so our apartment was quite a mess at the time. Because we both were working, it did not take long to realize that having a young puppy was a big mistake so we placed him on a farm in Pennsylvania. Our real involvement in the breed began in 1968 when we bought our first house. By then we had our first child and Nancy was a stay at home mom so getting a puppy was the first thing we bought when we moved in. We bought Nikroc�s Nikki, a Halmark�s Tanto�s of Cosalta daughter at 8 weeks of age. She turned out to be a beautiful dog and folks would walk up to us and make nice comments about her. We decided to breed her in 1971 and enjoyed the experience so much that we decided to learn more about the breed and the AKC Standard.

Pictured above:  BOSM Ch Masstana's Mercede (3rd generation Masstana)

2) How did you discover there was a sport known as showing dogs? Whose idea was it to show dogs?

We discovered the idea of showing because a number of folks would say something like "You should show her" (Nikki). When we looked at puppies in the area we were exposed to many champions and Shepherd enthusiasts so the concept of showing was there early on. We both decided to try it. We entered the Framingham KC show and John showed Nikki. The judge was a nice person who overlooked John's attire (shorts and tee shirt) and placed Nikki 4th out of 7 in the novice bitch class. We were thrilled! That basically "hooked" us.

3) Did you have any mentors that helped you when you first became involved in the breed?

Around 1972 or so we met Edie and Bob Trocki and Edie became our first mentor and best friend. In fact Edie arranged for us to get our first show bitch, Eva of Anton, a Ch Asslan of Robinsway daughter from Alice Zygmont. Eva had already won her futurity class but Alice was keeping her sister, so Eva was available. We bred Eva to a Ch Reno son that Edie had bred and got our first real competitive show dog, Masstana's Ferris of Anton. Ferris never finished his championship but he was always competitive. That is when we met Jimmy Moses who showed Ferris for us in a few shows. Through Jimmy we met Ed Barritt and they both took an interest in mentoring us. After Jim told us that he probably wouldn't be able to finish Ferris we met Lamar and he showed Ferris a couple of times. In fact in the first show Lamar showed Ferris it was a huge 5 pointer and he took him into the open class of 22 dogs and won the class! Everybody was congratulating us, but then we had to go back in and unfortunately we lost to an American Bred dog that Jimmy showed. It was a good dog though, (soon to be GV!) Kismet's Impulse of Bismark. We went reserve that day. The next day the exact same thing happened again. We stopped showing him after that weekend. During those early years we would have to say that Edie, Jim, Ed and Lamar were our mentors.

4) When did you breed your first litter and do you remember what stud
dog you used?

Our first litter was out of Nikki in 1972 and we bred her to an Italian import named Yago Di Casa Gatto. The dog was owned by a fellow named Romie Yagmenis (Sp) in Bridgewater Mass. We got some nice pets but no apparent show dogs.

Pictured above:  BOSF Ch Masstana's Brix (5th generation Masstana)

5) Your kennel name is MASSTANA. How did you come up with that name?

John was from Montana and we were living in Massachusetts so it seemed a natural. It was either that or Montachusetts. There were already a number of GSD kennels using John and Nancy in their names so we went with Masstana.

6) When choosing breeding partners for your bitches, what are some of the things you are looking for in the stud dog?

We both like strong backs, good color, harmonious movement and sound temperaments. We both will choose a dog that has proven that he can produce what we need for our bitch. The overall dog is important to both of us. Looks ("type"), temperament, health, show attitude, beautiful correct outline, and balanced extended movement are more important to both of us over extremes at either end. We have no interest in dogs with weak backs, light pigment or faulty rear action no matter how good they might be from the side.

7) What differences (if any) do you see with the breed from the time you first started until now?

We feel that overall; there is better temperament and stronger ligamentation now. Back when we started, hip dysplasia was much more prevalent and heart problems, ear problems and dippy backs were more common. We still have bad backs but not as many as the old days. Unfortunately we (the breed) have lost some of the great male heads we used to see.

8) You've both been involved in The German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater New Haven for many years. What changes are you seeing in the clubs? Many clubs are folding due to lack of membership, funding, participation, etc. Where do you find the problems lie? Any ideas for a solution?

We think the reduction in the number of conformation breeders everywhere has impacted the conformation aspect of many of the regional clubs. It is difficult to get new people involved in conformation and breeding. It seems that, for many, there is just too much time involved to become successful. There are more folks who are interested in Schutzhund work and other performance oriented aspects of showing than there are those interested in breeding the "perfect" dog. So if a club still wants to be a breed club rather than a training club they might be in trouble. We are lucky in that our club still has a number of folks who are still breeding and showing dogs who they hope will meet the AKC or even the German Standard. It is also very apparent that parents of young children today have little time for things that are not related to raising their kids. Also the expense of showing a dog is a major factor to young people. We also feel that PETA has had an effect on the social aspects of breeding/owning pure bred dogs. We have no "silver bullets" to solve these problems.

9) You�re both partners in this sport. Do you work side by side or is one more responsible for something and the other for something else (planning, breeding, conditioning, showing, etc.)? Nancy does everything. I handle some of the pups and help train the dogs. Generally we agree on the breedings.

Pictured above:  Ch Masstana's Karli (7th generation Masstana)

 10) What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you first started out in the breed?

If we had known that we were going to go into showing to the extent that we have, we probably would have made a more concerted effort to get the best bitch available. But with two growing children and other demands on our time, showing was just something that happened without a lot of planning.

11) What are some of your concerns in the breed right now?

We both believe it is most difficult to breed a male who can move like we want and still have the great head piece and bone to go with it. Also we like a dog (or bitch) who is motivated to move (i.e.: ATTITUDE). A show dog should love to show. We believe that even a "great dog" needs to perform to show his/her structural attributes properly. There are too many dogs that do not "cover the maximum amount of ground with the minimum number of steps" because they simply can't. But they can win under some judges (many of whom have no knowledge of how to judge movement) because of the handlers on the other end of the leash or the owners of the dogs. While we don't condone racing around the ring, we feel the breed loses something if we see a dog plodding around not having any fun and certainly not showing how he/she is built. But the racing around is not a problem with the dog anyhow. It is with the judges who allow flat out racing. We believe that at some point the judge should be able to see the dogs move on a loose leash. That doesn't mean go slow. We believe that those people in the breed who make the most noise about dogs moving with alacrity own dogs with no attitude or showmanship. They would like to see the breed move like their dogs. We sincerely hope that doesn't happen while we are showing. We believe that, while we need to bring some more diversity into the breed now, what we see from Germany is not what we want our dogs to look like. Back in the old days the better German dogs had a lot to offer. Now, other than red and black color and nice head pieces, what are you getting?

12) Do you see more health problems now than when you first started breeding?

It's become very difficult to find a stud dog that does not produce ME and EPI. There's nothing worse than to have to put a sweet little puppy to sleep because he had a bad case of ME. We realize it takes two to tango, but stud dog owners have to be honest about what their stud dogs produce. We will never breed to a dog if we think the owner doesn't want to honestly answer our health questions regarding what his/her dog is producing. We realize that any dog that is bred a lot is eventually going to produce every problem in the book. We simply want to know how often it happens with the dog we are interested in. We have seen fewer heart problems now than in the past and better hips for sure.

13) After all these years of being involved in breeding, raising and showing dogs, what makes you continue?

It is something we do together and we love our doggy friends that we have met over the years. Our dogs are our therapy! We truly enjoy raising puppies and finding loving families for them. Also, through showing dogs, we've made friends all over the country that we would otherwise have never had the good fortune to meet. And we enjoy the challenge of trying to breed the "perfect" dog.

14) You two go to many National Specialty shows. What do you consider are some of the biggest differences in the dogs that you see come from all parts of the United States?

In the old days, it appeared to us that many of the really great movers came from the East. The most beautiful dogs came from the West. Now it appears that the Midwest is producing some of the best moving dogs in the country. Time will tell but we think the rising expense of shipping a bitch to a stud will adversely impact the dispersion of bloodlines throughout the country.

15) Are there any things that you would like to see change in the parent club (The GSD Club of America)?

Probably to recognize that change (i.e.: significantly smaller National entries) is upon us and maybe cut down the number of days (to reduce the expense) of the National. We love the German Shepherd Dog Review so hope that is not where the cuts come from. Also we should consider again a realignment of the Fut/Mat system. We love these shows but find such small entries that one has to wonder if there is a better way.

16) When picking your top puppies, what are some of the things that you are looking for? In you opinion, what makes a puppy a star?

We love a good top line in a young puppy followed by a curvy rear and playful attitude. We like to pick a puppy that is good looking and has good balanced movement with a showy attitude. We recognize that puppies go through stages. Thankfully, most of our good ones grow pretty steadily, but they still go through some changes in top line and angulation. You have to be patient and know what stages to expect at different ages from your bloodlines. A "star" is a puppy who demonstrates effortless movement, that "look at me" attitude and a beautiful outline. It is easy to tell if you have a "star" when you go to a match or show and everyone comes up and asks "who is that?" However, unfortunately, we have learned that not all "stars" turn out.

17) Up to this point, what has been your most proud moment in the breed?

There have been many. We feel very proud when we win a Futurity/Maturity (11 of them so far) or when some of the big "names" in the breed inquire to buy one of our dogs. Our Ch Masstana's Mercedes was probably the best dog we ever produced, but our Ch Masstana's Brix (her grandson) brought about the largest buy offer. Mercedes is behind Ch Oscar so it is nice to see that he is a top producer. She is also behind one of the Fasano's ROM bitches who is the dam of MV Sel Ch. Woody Bearelson. Another of our males was GV Tacoma's grand sire. Our bitch, BIF, Sel Masstana's Vivacious of Farmil, won the 9 to 12 class at one national under Dan Dwier, American Bred at the 2nd National under Helen Gleason and went Select at the 3rd national under David Rinke. She certainly made us proud. The fact that one of our current champion bitches represents 7 generations of our breeding also makes us feel proud.

18) If you had to do it over again, would there be anything that you would change?

Probably not. We consider the mistakes we made along the way were lessons for the future.

19) What would you like to be remembered for in this breed?

We would like to be remembered for producing dogs that are good representatives of the breed in every way. The kind of dog that anyone could be proud to walk downtown and have people come over to pet them, but will be there as a protector if needed. From a show standpoint we would be pleased to be remembered for having dogs that had good balanced movement, good temperaments, strong backs, nice top lines and great show attitude. And of course we would like to be remembered as being nice, honest and reasonably knowledgeable breeders of German Shepherds.

Thanks for letting us tell you about Masstana German Shepherds. John and Nancy Vaught

My rating:  Furminator deShedding Tool:  (4)

CHRIS CHRISTENSEN SYSTEMS

Well looks like we are saying �goodbye� to the summer and �hello� to the fall. There is nothing like showing a dog at the fall shows. The weather is perfect for it, cool and crisp. The dogs feel good and the owners feel good. So out come the grooming supplies once again. Are your supplies in tip top shape or has some of them seen their better days? I was talking to a breeder friend yesterday who shows her dogs year round and we were talking about supplies. She loves the Chris Christensen Systems products. When I did a review on brushes before, I included this company�s line of products. Today I decided to devote a whole article on what they offer as it�s been a name well known in the dog world for years of offering top quality dog brushes.

WHY PROPER BRUSHING IS SO IMPORTANT:

Other than the primary function of brushing or styling hair, hair brushing serves several other important purposes; cleaning and massaging the skin, and stimulating the release of beneficial oil called sebum. Sebum is released by the sebaceous gland at the base of the hair follicle as a result of the gentle hair tugging action caused by brushing. Brushing the hair cleans the hair shaft, follicle, and skin by removing trapped scale, dirt, and oils. Brushing also distributes the Sebum, coating, lubricating, and protecting the hair shaft resulting in a healthy glow or sheen and more flexible hair. Because sebum protects and moisturizes, regular brushing results in hair that is healthier, more manageable, and easier to style. All of Chris Christensen Systems brushes are well balanced and easy to use. Handles are designed to ensure comfortable grip and use.

I�ve always known that this company made some of the best dog grooming brushes on the market, but I didn�t realize that they make some other grooming supplies as well. Here are some of the products that they make.

Oval Pin Brush - Large - A top quality pin brush. The finest quality pin brush that money can buy. Use 20mm for short coats; 27mm for medium to long coats; 35mm for long thick full coats. Ground and polished tips are the smoothest available and will not push into cushion. The supple, relaxed pin cushion is set in a light-weight solid wood body with an easy grip handle.

Thick N Thicker Volume Response Foaming Protein adds astonishing volume to any coat type. Replenishes protein and creates volume by implanting a high volume of low molecular weight proteins. The dense compact foam base allows easy distribution through the coat. Naturally volumizes thin, skimpy coats while repairing and protecting coat hairs. Strengthens weakened hair shafts and repairs split ends.

Buttercomb - 6 inches - Solid brass core with round core top to reduce friction and eliminate unnecessary breakage. Exceptionally smooth teeth glide through the coat like butter to reduce combing time by 50 percent! Steel teeth with a highly finished tips and high quality nickel chrome finish. This heavy dog grooming comb features1.25 inch long staggered teeth with a 6 inch total comb length.

Beautifully handcrafted Beech wood slicker brush with high grade steel pins for less coat damage. Ultra-soft, extra flexible cushion with base of one fourth inch foam. Shape and contours of the handle do all the work for you instead of wrist being at a constant angle. Less stress for groomer and animal.

Miracle Air is a natural but powerful way to completely eliminate odors. It can be sprayed directly on your dog, cat, puppy or kitten, around food and even on baby diapers. Chris Christensen Miracle Air is food grade. Miracle Air breaks apart odor molecules on contact. It is not a cover up. It eliminates all odors from pets, urine and fecal matter, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, body odors, diesel and gasoline.

These are just some of the products this well respected company carries.

My rating: Chris Christensen Systems dog grooming supplies: (4)

ON THE SPOT - WITMER'S GERMAN SHEPHERDS

I think when one thinks of the Witmer German Shepherd Dogs they immediately think of beautiful breed type. I know I do. It seems that Suzie Witmer has strived for a certain �look� in her animals. I know when I see one of her dogs, I say to myself, �Wow what a pretty dog that is!� Her dogs are very easy on the eyes. They also have been consistently good moving animals having won many Futurities and Select titles to their credit. (See the above dog:  Ch. Witmer's Hale of Vanderwerth OFA).

I asked Suzie if she would consent doing an interview with me about her breeding program and I�m happy she consented to share her ideas with us.

1. WHEN DID YOUR LOVE AFFAIR BEGIN WITH THE GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG?

I always had a love for animals. Horses came first and then dogs, and mostly German shepherd dogs. My aunt raised a couple litters of German Shepherd puppies when I was a kid. There was one in particular (male) that I became very attached to while my aunt lived with us. She took him with her when she moved out, and broke my heart... I saved my allowance, $5 a week, and bought a purebred unregistered German Shepherd puppy for $75.00.

2. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR KENNEL NAME?

My kennel name is Witmer, which is of course my last name. A German name!

3. DID YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED OUT IN THE BREED?

Nancy Towns, Bob Vanwinkle, the Dancosse family, and Rose Quigley. Nancy had a great eye for motion/side gait. She sat with me for hours looking at puppies and teaching me correct movement. . Bob taught me how to groom and condition.

4. WHAT HAVE YOU NOTICED TO BE THE BIGGEST CHANGES IN THE BREED SINCE YOU STARTED?

The folding of specialty clubs, and lack of exhibitors�

5. MANY KENNELS ARE KNOWN FOR CERTAIN THINGS, PERHAPS BREED TYPE, MOVEMENT, ETC. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOUR KENNEL IS KNOWN FOR?

My dogs are known for a dominant breed type, correct shoulders, and that they�re good moving dogs. (See the above dog:  Am Select Excellent Can Select Ch Witmer's Jamiroquai OFA H & E ROM).

6. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS SOME OF THE STRENGTHS OF THE BREED TODAY?

Intelligence, trainability, and their loyalty.

7. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR CONCERNS WITH THE BREED TODAY?

Too many short upper arms and moving from the elbows. Also running too fast and too many steps to cover ground.

8. WHEN BREEDING WHERE HAS SOME OF YOUR BEST STOCK COME FROM? LINE BREEDING, IN BREEDING, OUT CROSS?

Line breeding, and inbreeding.

9. A VERY WELL KNOWN BREEDER ONCE TOLD ME TO BREED TYPE TO TYPE. HE SAID FORGET ABOUT PEDIGREES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT STATEMENT?

I think type to type can work. However I do feel pedigrees are very important. Looking at a pedigree gives you a lot of knowledge including health issues and their pheno and geno type. I'm a pedigree person!

10. AT WHAT AGE DO YOU PICK YOUR TOP SHOW PUPPIES AND WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR?

5 wks 7 wks, 12 wks. If I like them, then I grow them out. Teenage stage (8 months to 14 months)is not a good time for my dogs. I look for forehand, type, presence/showmanship, and character.

11. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE PARENT CLUB (THE GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS CLUB OF AMERICA) DO THAT THEY�RE NOT DOING NOW?

I would like the parent club to be more open to the membership. Too many hush secrets have hurt us badly..

12. YOU HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE HAVING PRODUCED SOME OF THE TOP WINNING FUTURITY/MATURITY WINNERS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FUTURITIES? HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY?

I feel futurities are important. I enjoy seeing what breeders are producing. Futurities enable us to make educated decisions in our breeding program. Unfortunately entries are very low.

13. WHAT FOOD DO YOU FEED YOUR DOGS?

I feed Costco's, Kirkland chicken & Rice. It does a very nice job, and is a good quality food at an affordable price. I feed it with meat. I also feed a few raw.

14. DO YOU USE SUPPLEMENTS FOR YOUR DOGS?

I use Dr Kruger�s supplement show coat formula.

15. YOU HAVE OWNED SOME BEAUTIFUL CHAMPION AND ROM PRODUCING DOGS. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE? WHO WAS YOUR HEART DOG?

I do have favorites, and all my favorites are my heart dogs... Wilmer�s Angel, my Hawkeye dtr, her 2 inbred Hawkeye sons Witmer's Expresso, and Witmer's Executive, both passed with 12 pts all majors. My Andretti son, CH Ramhaus Eros of Nordlicht, Sel Ex CH, Can Sel CH Witmer's Jamiroquai "Jerry", CH Witmer's Angelina, and of course my current heart dog, Sel Exc CH Karizma's Nicaragua "Neeko"... One of the sweetest/kindest dogs I have owned. He has his 10 qualifiers, and it will be anytime now he receives his Rom..  (See the above dog:  Select Excellent Ch Karizma's Nicaragua OFA).

16. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST PROUD MOMENT IN THE BREED?

Watching Jantar's China Lake of Witmer go Grand Victrix in Canada...enjoying it with my best friends!! We also had a great party that night! A lot of good laughs.

17. ARE ANY OF YOUR DOGS INVOLVED IN RESCUE WORK, POLICE WORK, THERAPY WORK, OBEDIENCE TITLED, ETC?

Not dogs I personally own, but dogs by or out of my dogs are in all venues. Many therapy, search, and Rescue, herding, and obedience. My passion has always been in the ring. I have never had the desire for anything else.

18. WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR PEOPLE JUST STARTING OUT IN THIS BREED THAT WANT TO SHOW THEIR DOGS?

Join a breed club, and hopefully find a good mentor.

19. WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT OWNING A GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG?

Their companionship and loyalty.. They are so smart they amaze me. They are always
a step ahead of me, especially now!

20. IS THERE STILL SOMETHING IN THE BREED THAT YOU WANT TO DO AND YOU HAVEN�T ACCOMPLISHED IT YET?

I am content with the accomplishments to date. However adding more would be just fine with me....

21. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR IN THIS BREED?

Beautiful breed type, fronts, dogs that can side gait and are always competitive.

My rating:  Witmer's producing consistently beautiful moving animals:  (4)

LONG AFTER THE APPLAUSE DIES DOWN

LONG AFTER THE APPLAUSE DIES DOWN
By
Barbara J. Galasso

The janitor sweeps up the floor of candy wrappers carelessly left behind. He walks up to the next roll of seats, picking up half empty cans of soda pop, an arm band is picked up, number 89 it reads and without giving much more thought to it, he throws it in the trash can. A half eaten hot dog lies neatly on a chair's arm rest like its owner might come back to claim the rest of it. An open catalog lies haphazardly on a chair with the numbers one, two, three and four circled next to strange unknown names. Moving among the seats, he notices a spray bottle on the cement floor. He picks it up and opens the cap. He thinks to himself that it smells very much like a hair conditioner. What would someone be doing with a hair condition in a sports arena he wonders? �What�s this, he mumbles to himself. Oh boy, it looks like someone left their eye glasses behind.� He picks them up and puts it in his pocket to turn it into the lost and found. It's been a long day, cleaning and polishing and making things look new again. He's tired as he reaches to turn the light switch off.

The stadium is dark as he climbs the steps that will lead him out the arena door. As he reaches for the handle, he hears a slight noise and turns to look in its direction. He hears it again and recognizes it as the echoes of people clapping and cheering, and screaming and laughing. He turns the switch back on once again and the arena is flooded with light as he takes a seat at the top of the arena and listens as the thunderous applause surrounds the stadium as it did just a few short days ago.

"Excuse me sir", someone says to him as they try to squeeze past him with popcorn and soda in their hands. A little bit of the soda falls on the janitor�s shoes and he tells the kid to watch where he�s going. �Well it�s not like I did it on purpose� the kid wise mouths him. �Kids today have no respect� he says to himself. "Over here Tony," he hears another kid say. I've found an empty seat. Excuse me mister� the kid says as he tries to squeeze himself past the old man. The janitor looks around the huge arena, and wonders why these kids can�t find another seat besides the ones next to him!

Dogs are lying in the aisles. He knows he recognizes this breed, but can't quite figure out what they call them. "Oh, yeah, they're those police dogs," he says to himself. He looks down at the middle of the arena floor and sees hundreds of police dogs in the center of the ring. He wonders what they�re all doing here. He sees dogs running around the stadium with people running after them on long leashes. He sees some lady in the middle of the ring open the dog�s mouth and is looking at its teeth. "She's a lot braver than me," he thinks to himself. "And why is she touching his private parts?" he wonders. "She's lucky he doesn't take those teeth and sink it into her leg," he chuckles to himself.

"Pardon me sir," a teenage boy says to him. "I think you're in my seat." �Go sit over there he tells him in a menacing voice. This is my seat. Got it?� This kid doesn�t answer him back and quickly takes a seat several rolls away. "Hey did somebody borrow my catalog? I want it back, someone cries out in protest. "Where the heck did I put my glasses?" a little old lady mumbles to herself as she sits down in front of the janitor as she starts to rummage through her pocketbook.

He hears the woman a few seats away from him saying to her friend, �Did you ever see such a horrible looking bitch? She has no front, her rear end is all over the place and she�s missing a couple of teeth on top of it! Her friend responds by saying, �You should see what she produces like. Her babies are just as ugly as she is!� �Wow, the janitor thinks to himself. In my time, women didn�t use such language and it was one thing talking about someone, but quite another to be talking about someone�s kids!� He decides to take another seat further down the roll away from these offending women.

He turns his attention back to the ring. The dogs are all lined up in a roll over against the wall now and standing just as proud as can be. "Wow, I like that one in the front," the janitor says to himself. I've never seen such pretty looking police dogs before." He hears someone whisper to another that they like the second dog better than the first dog and questions why the dog in 15th place is not moved up to the front of the line?

Just then the dogs start to run around the ring again, one faster than the other. He hears whistles, and bells, and chains that rattle. He sees people running around calling out names like Royce, and Lillie and running into one another. He wonders where they're all running to in such a hurry. He looks around uncomfortably to make sure there isn't a fire that�s started somewhere. He thinks maybe he should get up and investigate, but is having too much fun watching all the pretty police dogs.

Then the lady in the middle of the ring points to the dog in first place and everyone stands up on their feet to a thunderous ovation. He wonders if he should be doing the same thing only he doesn't know what he'd be clapping for. He sees bulbs flashing as a photographer takes pictures, hands congratulating one another and others walking away cursing and tearing off their arm bands. A huge trophy is brought out to the center of the ring and the dog he likes is standing next to it. He's so beautiful, that he wants to go down there and pet him.

Just then he feels a hand on his shoulder and he say's to himself, "If someone asks me to move one more time, I might not be so accommodating as I was before!� "Come on Harry, for Pete's sake," he hears a familiar voice call out his name. "If Mr. Drake sees you napping again, you're going to be fired," he hears the voice say to him. He looks up and it's his co/worker John standing above him. "I'm not napping John," he tells him. "I'm watching the police dogs. Sit down and watch them with me," he tells him. "What police dogs? John snaps. There's nobody here but you and me, you old fool. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to lock up the doors and get home tonight."

Harry looks back at the arena, and the dogs are gone. He hears the applause dying down until there is nothing left but silence. He follows John to the door, scratching his head wondering if it was really just a dream after all. Maybe John is right. Maybe he is nothing but an old fool. But it all seemed so real.

He turns one more time to look at the arena and sees the beautiful dog with the trophy standing there looking up at him and wagging his tail, but decides not to say anything more to John about it. He all ready thinks his lost his mind. When they get out to the parking lot, he yawns as the night air hits his face. He waves good bye to John as he walks over to his car. He reaches in his pocket to get his keys out and feels the cold metal of an object. He wraps his fingers around it and pulls out the eye glasses of the little old lady.

From the book: "CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE DOG LOVER'S SOUL: STORIES OF CANINE COMPANIONSHIP, COMEDY AND COURAGE".....For thousands of years, dogs have been cherished as devoted companions and exuberant playmates�their unconditional love, limitless affection and unwavering loyalty never fail to melt our hearts. The stories in Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover�s Soul truly capture the special joy these four-legged creatures bring to our lives and hearts. From exciting and entertaining accounts of courage and humor to heartwarming tales of healing and learning, each touching story in this book will inspire dog lovers to rejoice in the unique bond they share with their canine companions.

My rating: dog stories: (4)

NO PART OF THIS STORY MAY BE COPIED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR!