"In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairy tale. In the university they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact!" -Ron Carlson
One of my favorite things to do every year (I seriously look forward to this all year) is to go to the Silver Bay Kennel Club dog show that's held every February at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I go mainly to see the German Shepherd judging of course, but it's a great place to see lots of breeds. It's always difficult taking pictures though. When the dogs are in the rings, they're either running, so it's hard to get a shot, or they're standing behind their handler (dogs are always to the inside of the ring, so from the outside you've usually got a handler between you and the dog), or they're simply too far away. But having a digital camera made things a little easer this year (at least I didn't have to worry about wasting film) and I actually worked up the nerve to approach a few people and ask them if I could take a picture of their dog. I even met a breed I didn't know about before! That's a first. (Well, ok, a couple years ago I saw a rough-coated Ibizan Hound, and before I saw it I didn't know they came in that coat type, but I did know about the breed.) But this was a completely new breed to me; the Azawakh:
It's an African sighthound, not officially recognized by the AKC yet, though they can be registered with the AKC's Foundation Stock Service, a record keeping service for rare breeds.
On to more familiar breeds, a Shetland Sheepdog on a grooming table:
And the main event :) (Switching to Photobucket, that's why it's bigger)
This is "Bravo" (according to my program his registered name is CH Jericho's Bravo of Windspirit). He's entered tomorrow, but wasn't competing today, just watching from outside the ring.
*sigh* Someday I'll have a German Shepherd. Someday....
