Burning Up the Rings

E-mail from Taija this morning, Kennedy's owner in Finland. As of the show today, he has five consecutive BOBs, a sixth CC, and second CACIB, the latter being from international shows.

So that all these letters make sense (I still don't have it all figured out despite Taija's explanation!), a primer:

In the European system, to finish his championship a dog must have three CCs, with one of them coming after the age of two. In the meantime, he can compete for as many CCs as are available. (Think 50 minor points in the U.S., but the dog won't have that championship until two majors are won.)

In Europe, to win a CC (Winners Dog, basically) the dog must defeat ALL dogs, including the specials. Much tougher than the U.S. system.

BOB is straighforward. Group placements, too. But when it comes to BIS, both Corgi breed winners must come back in--and there are placements in BIS. It's BIS-1, BIS-2, etc. Kennedy has a BIS-2.

With this BOB win, he now has won the "Young Corgi of the Year" title (they max out at five, and he was the first to get there), and should end up high on the "Corgi of the Year" title. (All ages)

I may have gotten this all mixed up, but I'm sure Taija can set me straight. 8-)

And I can't tell you HOW EXCITED I am about being able to show him in our National!

Kennedy's Record

Kennedy is the dog I sent to Finland last summer, to an exceptionally good home with Taija Potsonen, who sometimes posts here. I found out yesterday that Kennedy has added more burnish to his name by winning a CC, BOB, and a Group 2 last weekend! Gooo Kennedy! So if I remember correctly (and I may not, because the European system is much more convoluted than AKC requirements), he now has five CCs, two CACIBs, four consecutive BOBs, and the Group 2. (CCs move the dog toward his championship, and the CACIB is for international shows. They count toward an international championship, while the CCs count toward his Finnish championship.) And he's just 16 months and has been in 6-8 shows. Not bad for the guy! 8-) Kudos to Taija. I am SO looking forward to showing him at our National Specialty next year, when Taija and Robert come over for 4-5 weeks.

Catching Up

Lost the computer in a huge thunderstorm July 4th (turned off, but not unplugged) when lightning struck the house, which is a 2-story with a metal roof. A friend reminded me my homeowners insurance should cover it, and I remembered I actually had computer-specific personal articles floater. So the company and I worked things out, and I bought a refurbished HP, replaced surge protectors, replaced modem, etc. I (sort of) kept up with e-mail by going to a local cyber cafe, but that was it. Couldn't work on the book other than sketch out notes, etc. (Yes, I was most relieved when all the data was fine!) Definitely drove me crazy with no way to get online. My laptop died a year ago, so no backup for work. I plan to get one of those mini netbooks for work backup and travel. I'm very glad to be back online!

This coming Wednesday I take the red-eye out of Phoenix to Detroit, where I'll be met by Stephanie Hoyer and whisked off to the Western Reserve specialty. I will select my puppy there (the blue goes to co-breeder, so I have a chouice of four blacks), and hang out and watch the shows. Sunday evening I fly back and will spend the night in Phoenix before heading back up to Flagstaff. It will be so nice to have a baby in the house again!