December 2023 – At Home in France

A zombie Santa. Why not? You were probably hoping for this little guy.

The holidays will be nice, friends over, that kind of thing. My French family is off to Guadeloupe, as a daughter is doing a medical residency there. I decided to stay home to prepare for next year. Thus the zombie Santa. What he had to do with the dog show I went to, I do not know, but whatever.

So, yes, a dog show. 2000 dogs and so much chaos. No programs, frequent ring changes. It was quite something.

I went to dog shows back in the States. 2000 dogs was a big deal. They had agility and obedience and tracking, all kinds of stuff. The idea was to add in activities that would attract non-show-dog people, to entertain them and to encourage them to do more things with their own dogs.

Here, not so much. It was easy to find a table for lunch because nearly everyone went back to sit with their dogs. Not a lot of spectators, then. Agility was early on and kind of a non-event. It’s easy to see why. The distractions were everywhere. The astute observer will notice grooming setups along the walls and right adjacent to the rings. The barking, the smells, the bunnies, who can concentrate?

Indeed, yes, at a show where maybe a third of the dogs are bred to hunt these critters and break their pretty necks, they added bunnies. Go figure.

And notice if you will, nothing separates viewers from the rings. We and sometimes our dogs all sat with our feet dangling into the ring itself. I saw staff run a coffee cart through a ring during judging. The dogs did not take well to all this excitement. Diarrhea was everywhere. Unlike in the States, this did not mean the dog was disqualified. So I guess over here this is normal. Or not. When I asked a ring steward about programs and schedules, she shook her head and had this to say: “C’est nul ici!” Sad but true.

There were a lot of cute dogs, though. Julien was hoping I’d bring this one home, but no, this was not a Salon de Chiots, where the puppy mills sell their offspring. These guys went home with their owners.

I was here for the Wolfhounds. Sorry for the blurry photo. On the left you can see the dog who took best of breed and first in her group. She placed in the Best in Show judging, too. Big Effing Deal, to put it mildly. To her right is one who might have taken breed and might possibly have done something in group, if she hasn’t been edged out. Last spring she had twelve puppies, so the guys figure she’s done her bit for their breeding program. She needs a new home. She may have found one.

So here we are. Happy Zombie Christmas to you all. Happy Zombie whatever you celebrate. I hope this year we find that, one way or another, we are all best in class.