The Rest Of The Trip

May 1, 2008

We were mugged at the ring entrance and I've never been hugged by so many people in my whole life - they just kept coming. It was such a thrill, and many of those who took the time to congratulate us have been friends for years. Argus got a little too wired up with all the excitement and was jumping up on people too, as I tried to settle him down. When Jess was through being congratulated for Daisy's Award of Merit, she came and took Argus from me and put him on a down-stay so he could catch his breath and settle a bit before pictures. Several people offered him water, and although he was too excited to drink, sips of water poured in his mouth helped him stop panting.

The photos went well, and although it is certainly not our best picture, it is adequate. I should not have kept Argus standing so still on the platform for as long as I did. It's a rather "static" shot, and to me Argus looks best when he is getting ready to launch after a squeaky toy! That's how I always see him in my mind.
Mr. Bivin was very complimentary, and said that Argus was "everything a Dalmatian should be". He put his face down to Argus, who kissed his cheek.

We stayed for the Awards Dinner of course. I normally head for home right after breed judging at the National, but for some reason I did not check out of my room this year. When Argus won the breed, I was informed that we WERE staying (no arguments from me there) and we had a very nice time at the dinner. We thought about going to the bar afterwards, but instead we stayed in the banquet room and chatted with friends, then walked the dogs and finished up packing so we could leave early the next morning.

The trip home was easy, the weather was good, and we sure had lots to talk about! Both Jess and I went back to work on Friday, to avoid facing a week's worth of work on Monday!

This was truly and thrill, and something that I will relive many times - with a smile, I'm sure.