03/24/2024
TLDR: It’s worth it to show up.
I (somewhat) facetiously call these Noodle's "Thanks for Showing Up" ribbons.
I have a whole wall of them.
Work commitments and chasing other titles ( !!!) limit my time to enter conformation with Noodle, so when a 3-day cluster in my backyard comes around I toss my entries in.
As almost always happens we were the only entry in our breed, and this weekend, which happens often and is always disappointing, we were the only Miscellaneous entry at all.
But off we went, in our show clothes, to be the very last dog each of our judges saw for the day.
And it was totally worth it!
Three wonderful judges took the time to study the standard (I know they did because we had time to talk about it) and took the time to examine Noodle with greqt care and professionalism.
They seemed surprised to see me. One even remarked, "Oh! You came!" All thanked me for bringing him out. I thanked them for their time.
Looking at the weekend, it could be argued that it was a waste - of entry money, client time lost, bridge tolls - just to leave with a few ribbons.
But, we got, and gave, so much more. The three assigned judges had a chance to put hands on a dog they only know from paper, other judges stopped us to ask quick questions, and spectators loved meeting Noodle and getting a chance to pet the hairless dog, more than a few videos and pictures were taken.
No points, but lots of opportunity to be seen and talk about the breed.
And I got to spend time with my best boy, which is always a good day.
