June 23, 2000

Everything turned out perfectly for this year’s specialty. Our weather was perfect - sunny and warm but not too hot. Our show site on the Clackamas KC grounds with all of the lovely old fir trees providing a lot of shade and as usual, our ring was large enough to let the Salukis cover some ground. We are fortunate that there is plenty of setup room for the club and exhibitors alike. The CKC members are very gracious and we are pleased to continue to use their grounds.

Thanks to our many generous trophy sponsors, we once again had one of the nicest trophy tables on the grounds. We even heard some exhibitors from one of the other breed specialties say they wanted to get a Saluki to show as we had the nicest trophies. The beautiful print, Keeper of the Treasure, was given for Best of Breed along with many, many more beautiful trophies for every class.

Our judges were pleasant and efficient in their judging. They were a pleasure! Dr. John Shelton judged the regular and non-regular classes and Rosemary Power judged puppy and veterans sweepstakes. Their critiques follow.

I would like to thank all of our exhibitors for bringing your beautiful Salukis. You brought some very lovely ones again this year, which did not go unnoticed by our judges who commented on the quality of the entry.

Our raffle table had a lot of great items again this year. What would we do without all of your donations? For those that missed the judge’s dinner, you missed a great time. We tried a new restaurant this year, and it worked out very well. Good food, less expensive (always a plus!) and a nice secluded area with a wonderful waitress who put up with all of our joking. We plan to be back there next year.

I said everything was perfect - well almost. There was one problem. We had a very angry exhibitor whose entry did not make it to the show secretary. They chose to “bad mouth” the club during the course of the specialty. Because of this, I would like to “set the record straight.” Their frustration was understandable, but they focused their anger on our show secretary and show committee, even threatening a lawsuit, which was quite unpleasant. The exhibitor complained to our show secretary prior to the show date and after many phone calls he finally called AKC for a decision. He was told he could do nothing - the entry had not been received. The entry submittal provider that this exhibitor used did send one entry with fee for one of their Salukis and that one was properly entered. We do not know what happened to any second entry, but we do know that the show secretary did not receive it. The exhibitor may have a complaint but not with the WVSC or its show secretary. This has been a very upsetting experience for those who worked so hard to put on a successful specialty. We are very surprised and yes, hurt that someone would suggest that WVSC or our show secretary would keep anyone from entering our specialty. This is simply not the case. Oh, well - stuff happens!

All in all it really was a great day! Now it's time to start looking to next year. I hope to see you there.

It was my pleasure to judge the twelfth specialty show for this club. It is the highest honor a judge can have to judge a specialty show, especially for a breed that he is very fond of. Ever since I began showing dogs I’ve enjoyed and admired the Saluki.

I will begin this discussion by saying that I am not fond of critiques. I rarely read them and don’t like to write them. One reason is that exhibitors don’t really wish to hear negative things about their dogs. I don’t read critiques because they are typically full of canned remarks about the dogs.

Many years ago also bred Smooth Fox Terriers along with Whippets, Borzois, and an occasional Greyhound. Our specialty was to be judged by a woman who was a well-known breeder from England. I entered six exhibits to show to her, but one bitch got in a fight and had her nose cut open, so we left her at home. The judge made no notes, during or after judging. She took no photos and had no tape recorder.

Therefore, I was amazed to read her critique in the next issue of our newsletter. She made interesting comments about each class winner. When she came to the class where my absent bitch would have been the single entry, she critiqued her! “Lovely head, could have had a better ear set, adequate mover, could be a bit shorter in loin, ...” I then went back and re-read the earlier comments on the other classes. They were “safe” remarks. What bitch in those days couldn’t have been a bit shorter in loin or had a bit better ear set? I didn’t believe another word she wrote.

Now, you’re going to say, he’s doing the same thing: writing only nice things about the dogs. Sorry, but true, I guess. I was told I would have to write a critique, so I set out my camera and my tape recorder so I could take visual and verbal notes. Then I forgot them! I made some basic notes on the overall quality of the entry and of the class winners.

The weather couldn’t have been better! It was a glorious day with moderate temperatures and warm sun. The facilities were excellent, a nice, large ring for the dogs to show off their movement. My steward, Jack Frost, was the best, totally attentive to the my needs and those of the exhibitors. Everyone connected with the club was very cooperative, helpful, and friendly. The exhibitors, winners and losers, were most gracious. It made my job all the more pleasant.

The winner of the 9-12 month puppy dog class was Shamar’s Graphite Salish, a black and tan of good outline. He was excellent in front but a tad close behind, but what do you expect from such a young lad. His most endearing quality, however, was his fabulous temperament. He was a tail wagger who enjoyed himself. He was ultimately Best Puppy.

From the 12-18 month class came D’Ansor Mirage Al Sayad. He looked young. He had an excellent outline, though he needed more depth of chest. He was a bit close coming and going.

I loved Snowynde Winter Fury, a grizzle, who won the BBE class. Lovely head, eye, and nose. A trifle soft in topline standing, though fine while moving. He was good moving both ends and in profile. He was my Reserve Winners Dog.

First in Open Dogs and ultimately Winners Dog was Salish’ Legacy of Gold shown by a lovely young lady about to make her mark in Junior Showmanship. I might call him dark cream. His profile was excellent. Very nice head, good eye, dark nose. He moved well from all directions. My one complaint of him was his coat. It was a bit “wintery.” A couple of months with regular work with a hound glove and good coat conditioners and I think he could be made to shine.

Salish Indian Ink, a red bitch, came and went well and had good reach and drive. She was immature (of course) and she, too, had a rough coat.

The 12-18 class sent Jen-Eff Flite of the Phoenix to the winners class. A very pretty grizzle, she came and went well, but held back in moving in profile.

Salish’ Fawn Memor-ezz won a nice BBE bitch class. She was a light cream, very pretty standing in profile. Her side gate was very good and she was good coming to me, but her rear was a bit close going away. Overall a lovely, quality bitch. She was ultimately Reserve Winners Bitch and Best BBE in show.

My Winners Bitch and Best of Winners was the winner of the Open Bitch class. A red grizzle with a gorgeous coat, there was very little I didn’t like about her. She was good in side gait, and also down and back.

Ch. Sirianni Arazi Alerek won the Junior Veteran Dog class. Ch. Sirianni Shariifah of Cezanne won the Junior Veteran Bitch class. Though both showed age, you could see that they were both once stars. I chose the bitch for Best Veteran.

There was one entry only in the Stud Dog and Brood Bitch classes, but it was interesting to see who was producing what. Ch. Mystery’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ won the Stud Dog class, and Ch. Shamar’s String of Pearls, won the Brood Bitch class.

The brace class winner was a very good brace. They indeed looked like mirror images standing and moving together: Ch. Carmas Some Like It Hot and Ch. Carmas Drivin Ms Daisy.

I was very pleased with the specials class. There was not a bum in the bunch, which is refreshing! At most shows, I’d be delighted to have any one of them to give the breed ribbon to.

Ultimately Ch. Shamar’s Candle Light Mirah stood next to the Best of Breed marker. A white bitch of beautiful, elegant outline, she excelled in movement, too. Her lean physical state was partly responsible for the elegance, but I’d like to see a bit more maturity.

Best Opposite Sex went to Ch. Sirianni Hakuna Matata, JC, a red dog. He was a contrast to the BOB bitch in that he was very mature and masculine. He had a gorgeous coat, and I liked everything about him.

I had only two Awards of Merit to give. I chose Ch. Shamar’s String of Pearls, a white bitch who was not unlike my BOB winner. The other AOM went to a beautiful grizzle bitch, Snowynde Winterborne. She, too, had everything a Saluki should have: lovely type and movement.

Overall I was very pleased with the entry’s quality. I thought the bitches were better than the dogs. I would like to wish each of you the best in your breeding programs and your show success. Thank you for allowing me to judge your beautiful dogs.