Tuesday, July 21, 2009

BCOA 2010 Site

Finished the design for BCOA's 2010 National Specialty web site! There is still content wanting for it - but it is ready for it when it comes!


The theme is "Run for the Roses" - so I found some nice roses to include in the layout.

Site is now live at http://www.borzoiclubofamerica.org/2010/

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Oh My, Omaha

Once again I made the trek to Omaha for their BCOA Trophy Supported Entries, spending twice as much time on the road than if I had chosen to head down to the big Houston cluster that is always too hot, too crowded and too stifling. Although missing Houston means missing seeing my dad and a visit to Mike McCartney's booth to get a fun caricature of one of the crew to commemorate their year. Accompanying me on my trip were Faina, a gangly and hairless Ozzy, and ol' man Burni (who was absolutely thrilled to get to come play).

Saturday was pretty uneventful with Faina having the best day by going second in her class. On Sunday, Burni was Best Veteran in Sweepstakes, defeating a bitch I admire greatly who had a wonderful racing career and did well in conformation as well.

Best Veteran in Sweeps
Judge: Shirley McFadden, Svora

Faina again took second in the Bred-By Exhibitor Bitch class, but Burni made me smile even more this time though. He was so psyched to be in the ring again, smiling the whole way around and I was having problems keeping up with him as he was really moving out. He just got better and better. It was a fabulous feeling for him to go Best Opposite to the currently ranked (all-breed) #1 Borzoi, especially with such other nice quality males in the ring, including a recent BCOA National Specialty AOM winner and other regularly campaigned, successful dogs. Not bad for an 8 1/2 year old !

Best Opposite Sex
Judge: Prudence Hlatky, Soyara

Silken Pups Galore!


It didn't turn how we originally planned, but we will certainly make the best of our overabundance of puppies (soon to be poopies) here at the moment.

We were so certain that Kandi had not been bred. She came into season Friday a week prior to Silkenfest. We had planned to pick up Bruce (her intended) at Silkenfest and bring him home for the tryst - but Kandi thought otherwise. Due to some good luck, Chuck was in TX and we met that weekend for Kandi to head to KY with him.

I was dismayed to hear that neither Kandi nor Bruce showed much interest in each other. She had had a super-short cycle when at Mary's for her breeding with Dan when she was leased - so we figured we had missed the window. Francie kept them penned together during her stay and when we picked her up at Silkenfest, we did bring home Bruce for another try. She wasn't even swollen!

Trouble had come into season the Friday we were in MO for the show. We started noodling over that idea, and since it looked hopeless with Kandi, we opted for a breeding with Bruce and Trouble after a phone call to Chris.

Kandi didn't even really look preggers until the weekend prior to delivery, other than she had seemed to have a bit of extra hair. But her tuck-up disappeared
suddenly while we were in Texarkana for shows!

On the morning of June 19 she delivered 4 pups with no issues (she'd had primary inertia her first litter and a c-section) during delivery. She's being a wonderful mother and very attentive to her brood. Two boys and two girls - all extreme white, one little boy just has a speck of color on his right ear - the one with the most color is a wee female clone of papa Bruce.

Trouble's litter (her first) arrived on July 5 - 3 boys and 2 girls, all spotted gold brindles, although 1 girl has heavy striping which makes her look silvery, and 1 boy has hardly any and almost looks like a clear gold.

Pictures of Kandi's pups at 4 weeks:
http://www.gryffynsaeyrie.com/silken-m.html (the litter's page)
and more photos in the online album at
http://www.gryffynsaeyrie.com/gallery/kandi-bruce

Trouble's pups at 2 weeks with freshly opened eyes:
http://www.gryffynsaeyrie.com/silken-n.html
and their online gallery at
http://gryffynsaeyrie.com/gallery/trouble-bruce

Local Humane - Common Misconceptions About HSUS

There are common misconceptions about your local humane society and its relation with the Humane Society of the United States - and this website helps to alleviate the confusion.

Disclaimer from the site: "The point of this site is not to pass judgment on the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), or any humane society for that matter. Rather, the intent behind this site is to clarify a few common misconceptions held by the public at large about HSUS and its relation to local humane societies. The resulting effect, if there is any, of such clarification is not intended to be malicious. We're simply writing what is true. Think of it like a fact check for humane societies.

Like all information you come across though, don't simply take our word for it. If the points we raise interest you, try contacting your local humane society for validation and/or additional information."

Learn more at http://localhumane.org/