From left to right: Gus Quevedo (Former Co-Owner), Judge David Swartwood, Judge Thomas Nesbitt, Judge Emma Jean Stevenson, Handler Jessie Herzon, Judge Steve Dainard, Owner Yvonne Alemán
Dead center: Orso the Cane Corso!
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After our little “accident” in December where one of the cushions of our previous sectional tore on the seam, we were on a perpetual mission trying to find a new sectional that would (1) NOT be high quality leather – try telling a furniture sales person that you are shopping for furniture for your dogs’ family room; (2) would fit in the family room; and (3) would provide ample seating for everyone, not just the furkids! We finally found something we liked and it was delivered today! The dogs LOVE it! Can you tell???!!
Well, maybe not, but it was a cute heading! In honor of Mother’s Day a couple of days ago, Grandma Mariela “helped” Orso write a letter to me in Spanish thanking me for everything I do for him. It was VERY sweet and cute! Below is what Grandma Mariela & Orso wrote to me – it’s in Spanish, so I included an English translation under the original message:
“Grácias mamá Yvo, grácias papá, porque ustedes me han cuidado y han demostrado su amor por mi, pero lo más importante, me han educado. Soy algo diferente a la gran mayoria de perros, aquellos que no han tenido la suerte mia de tener unos padres tan especiales. Yo hago lo mejor que puedo en cada show, porque han confiado en mi y abanico mi colita para dejarles saber cuanto les quiero. Los premios son de ustedes y mi campeonato es el de ustedes, nada hubiera podido lograr sin el esfuerzo y el sacrificio de mis padres adoptivos, y si alguna vez no me he portado muy bien, recuerden que solo tengo unos meses. Les regalo mi fidelidad incondicional y hasta mis travesuras. Besos, ORSO” English Translation: “Thank you, momma Yvo, thank you poppa, because you have cared for me and have demonstrated your love for me, but most importantly, you have taught me manners. I am very different than most dogs because there are many who have not been fortunate enough to have such special parents. I do the best I can at every show because you trust in me to do so and I wag my tail to let you know that I love you. The ribbons and medals I win are dedicated to you, as is my championship, since none of it would have happened without the efforts and sacrifice of my human parents. If I have ever misbehaved, remember that I am only a few months old. I give you my unconditional loyalty and even my mischief. Kisses, ORSO” After a couple of very long show days, we decided to spend the night and drive home today. We took our time getting organized and finally left Orlando close to mid-day. On our way out, we stopped at a BBQ place for some lunch. Mouse and Luna stayed sleeping in the cargo van in their crates – with the A/C turned on, of course – and Orso hung out with us by our picnic table, see below. After lunch, we headed over to meet with 2 wonderful ladies to get Orso his own Kool Koat! After working so hard this weekend, we figured he deserved to be pampered with his own apparel. We had it embroidered with his name and everything! Once we finished up there, we were on the road back home. It was great to drive home in silence. The dogs were all so tired from the weekend that they didn’t make a peep. They all snored the whole way back to Miami, see below.
Day two of showing started bright and early for us with an 8am ring time. Ouch. Our judge for the 3rd of 4 shows was UCI International & Canadian Judge Mr. Thomas Nesbitt. He awarded Orso an SG1 rating and Best of Breed. Orso earned his National Champion title with this 3rd SG1 rating! How exciting! 10 months old and already a conformation champion! He went in to the Working Group Puppy Class and Mr. Nesbitt awarded him group first out of 13 dogs! Wow, what an honor! Orso would have another chance at Best in Show later in the day! We are thankful to both Judge Mr. Thomas Nesbitt and Jessie Herzon, Orso’s handler, for this great win!
Below are some of our favorite photos of the morning, enjoy! To read what Mr. Nesbitt had to say about Orso, click here for his written critique. Show two of the day also went very well for Orso. Our judge for the 4th of 4 shows was Canadian Judge Mr. David Swartwood. He awarded Orso an SG1 rating and Best of Breed. Orso went back in for Working Group Puppy Class and took group 2nd place; Judge Swartwood later commented to me that he wanted to place him 1st in the working group class but Orso acted up at the end of the showing and blew it, LOL. Having earned this 4th SG1 rating meant that Orso is now an International Champion. How awesome is that?!? A ton of thanks go to Jessie for rocking the ring with Orso this afternoon and to Judge Swartwood for issuing Orso’s 4th rating to complete his International Champion requirements!
Unfortunately, my camera decided it didn’t want to cooperate while Orso was in the ring with Mr. Swartwood but it came back to life for the group class. Below are some of our favorite photos of the afternoon, enjoy! To read what Mr. Swartwood had to say about Orso, click here for his written critique. ORSO TAKES BEST IN SHOW PUPPY UNDER JUDGES MR. STEVE DAINARD & MR. DAVID SWARTWOOD – 05.08.20115/8/2011 Our last experience of the show day was amazing! Orso had taken group first in the morning and went back into the ring to compete for Best in Show Puppy. I was so nervous. He did so well! The judges awarded him Best in Show Puppy and I almost passed out – Mr. Dainard and Mr. Swartwood, thank you for such a great honor! I even let out a little scream from all the excitement! Everyone was clapping; it was great. Orso was so overcome from all the excitement that he tried to eat his Best in Show rosette! Below is the sequence of pictures leading up to him trying to eat his well-earned beautiful ribbon!
We want to thank our handler, Jessie Herzon, for working so perfectly with Orso this weekend. The show days were very long and exhausting and she was a total trooper. We also want to thank all the great judges that Orso showed under. All of you were wonderful and took the time to learn about and truly understand the Cane Corso breed. We also want to thank Drew Alderson and his team for being an incredible Superintendent for the shows and taking care of every last detail. IABCA puts on an excellent event and we highly recommend it for anyone who shows dogs. The experience was invaluable. Below are some of our favorite photos from the Best in Show judging, along with some photos of Orso hanging out before the show, and of course, I have included the shots of Orso trying to eat his rosette. Professional show photos will be posted as soon as we receive them. Enjoy! This morning’s dog show was a huge success for Orso. We didn’t know what to expect since we are accustomed to the traditional AKC-type dog shows, so we just allowed Jessie Herzon, Orso’s handler, to guide us through the morning. We knew we had to be ringside at around 8:30am but that was about it. We were staying at the Orlando Sun Resort & Convention Center, which was conveniently where the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) dog shows were being held. It was great to just wake up and walk to the show location! It was especially convenient since we had Luna & Mouse with us. Like we do at all the shows, we set up our soft crate and all of Orso’s show things. We followed our usual routine and showed up about 45 minutes before ring call to allow Orso a little settling down time in his crate. When it was finally time to report for our breed’s time, we headed over to our designated show ring with Jessie.
It was very cool to see how the show was organized. Each dog goes into the ring alone for his evaluation where he is judged against the standard. After individual evaluations are done, the dogs all go back in to the ring together to get ranked against each other. Our judge for the 1st of 4 shows was Canadian Judge Mr. Steve Dainard. He awarded Orso an SG1 rating, which is the highest rating that can be awarded to a dog showing in Orso’s age group. In order to be awarded a National Champion title, Orso needs three SG1 ratings this weekend. Four SG1 ratings will earn him a National and International Champion titles. Orso then took Best of Breed and went in to show in the Working Group Class. Mr. Dainard placed Orso first in his group out of 13 dogs! What an amazing moment this was for us! So special! Orso had the opportunity to go back in the ring later to compete for Best in Show and he behaved wonderfully! He didn’t win Best in Show but he managed to win the hearts of many of the spectators. Jessie did a great job with Orso this morning. Below are some of our favorite photos of the morning, enjoy! To read what Mr. Dainard had to say about Orso, click here for his written critique. Show two of the day was also a great success for Orso. Our judge for the 2nd of 4 shows was UCI International & American Judge Ms. Alice Bixler. She awarded Orso an SG1 rating and Best of Breed. He went in for Working Group Class but did not win the group class. Orso now has two SG1 ratings of the three required for his National Champion title and of the four required for his International Champion title! Yay, Orso! And many thanks to Jessie for doing such a wonderful job with Orso today. It was a long day for everyone. We started at just after 8am and did not finish at the show until after 6pm. Below are some of our favorite photos of the afternoon, enjoy!
To read what Ms. Bixler had to say about Orso, click here for her written critique. Below are some cute photos that we took while we were driving to the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) dog shows in Orlando. We rented a cargo van from Enterprise, so Luna & Mouse traveled comfortably in their crates and Orso was allowed to travel loose. He even tried to take over the wheel while I was checking in to the hotel, LOL. Enjoy!
This coming weekend, the whole family is packing up and heading to Orlando for the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) dog shows in Orlando. It will such a refreshing change to show under an organization that is not affiliated with the AKC! The IABCA shows are 4 shows over a 2-day period. Orso will be showing in the “Jugend” class, which is for puppies who are 9 to 12 months old, with his handler, Jessie Herzon of Chambray Labradors. All 4 shows will be held at the Orlando Sun Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.
This weekend should be fun for many different reasons. Nichelle, our dogsitter extraordinaire is traveling this weekend, so we are taking all 3 dogs with us. We have rented a cargo van instead of our usual minivan rental to have enough room for everyone. A family trip is long overdue! Also, the IABCA judges its shows differently than traditional dog shows. In other words, Orso will be judged against the standard as an individual dog. The judges prepare written critiques of each dog for the owners to keep, which are open to discussion and clarification. At the end of the four shows, if your dog is an excellent representation of the breed standard, he has the opportunity to leave either a national and/or international champion under the IABCA. Very cool. We are definitely looking forward to it! To learn more about the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) or about the show this weekend, click here or go to: http://www.iabca.com/showinfoFL05-11.html. On Saturday, Orso and I took 2nd place and Reserve Winners under Judge Jay Richardson, helping our buddy achieve the major win he needed to finally finish his dog, Argento's, AKC Champion title! Marcos asked me to handle my own dog instead of using a handler so that we would help his dog, Argento, get the points since it was taking him a long time to finish his AKC Championship. Knowing that Orso and I would inevitably not do well in the ring, thus giving Marcos the points, I agreed to help him out and it worked. Congrats, Marcos & Argento on finishing. Orso and I had a great time in the ring together, below are some photos to share: This is the look of a confused first-time handler: Below is a cute photo of Jessie setting Orso up during Sunday’s show, where he took 2nd place under Judge Robert Smith.
Below are 3 video clips of Orso just being Orso! They are each about 2 minutes long and are pretty cute! Enjoy! Orso loves when we come home from Publix and Costco because he gets to play with all the empty boxes! Hey, who turned off the lights???!!! Orso gets to work on his hand stacking and trotting a few times a week, but our house is full of distractions – flying leaves, the fact that I cannot run in a straight line, bait falling out of my hands, birds, cats, kids, cars, etc. – nonetheless, Orso is always a good sport and we usually manage to get a good 3-4 minutes of work in before it all falls apart! Orso lives to play fetch in the water. He will play fetch in the pool for HOURS, same with the lake. It is relentless! This coming weekend, Orso and I will be heading to Vero Beach for a two-day show. Orso will be showing in the 9-12 month puppy class at each of the two shows with his handler, Jessie Herzon, which will be held both days at the Indian River County Fairgrounds, 7955-58th Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32966. Below are links to information about both shows:
April 30, 2011 – Treasure Coast Kennel Club Of Florida, Inc. May 1, 2011 – Treasure Coast Kennel Club Of Florida, Inc. |
YVONNE
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