Part 2
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| Part 2 Click on pictures to see enlargement |
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6 March - continued This feast, consisting of boilt rice mixed with scraps of game, had been served on the terrace earlier in the day with Coco watching enviously through the window in the closed terrace door. It was quite clear, that Coco was fully aware of what was being withheld from her, and as soon as Milloup had emptied and left the bowl, she used the first available opportunity to race into the garden, and a few seconds later we could hear the sound of an empty bowl sliding rhytmically across the flagstones of the terrace when Coco tried to lick her way through the bottom and sides of it to get the last remains. But knowing Milloup "the remains" probably consisted of three grains of rice sticking to the sides of the bowl, because when Milloup has been eating something he likes, the washing up is usually accomplished simultaneously with the eating. |  |
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In spite of this feast Milloup was not too full to refrain from giving begging a try. When we'd finished eating we remained at the table chatting companionably. Around 10 the phone rang. That was Iris's parents informing us that after a long day working in the garden they were now off to bed, so would Iris kindly make sure to let me into the house when she brought me back? This reminded us of the fact that we had to get up pretty early the next morning, and we agreed to call it a day so we could all get a good night's sleep. Back at Iris's parents house Milloup and I went for a quick inspection round on the field before bedtime, and soon dog and owner were sleeping peacefully paw in arm. |
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7 March The alarm clock went off at 7, and I wouldn't say that I was quite awake when I tumbled out of bed and donned some clothes in order to take Milloup out. Luckily, the Clerk of the Weather was still on our side, the weather was cool and overcast, but it wasn't raining. Milloup had a good run across the field before we went back to the house. I hadn't yet heard any sign of life from the regular inmates of the house, so I was a little worried that Milloup might start a concert when I left him to go and take a shower in the bathroom downstairs, which was necessary as the shower in the first floor had been taken down for replacement with a newer model. And Milloup does not always suffer in silence when being left alone in strange surroundings. This time, luckily, he instead waited quietly for me in the bed. I made haste packing the bags, and then we went downstairs to the kitchen, where Iris's mother had breakfast ready for us. As it is, I'm never very hungry on show or test mornings, so instead Iris's mother insisted on making a large lunchpack for me to eat later in the day. I accepted this offer gratefully. Soon Iris arrived, and I hurriedly threw the last bits and pieces into our bags. Milloup gave Coco and Clara a rapturous welcome, we waved goodbye to Iris's parents and set the course for the show. The show had been moved from Fallingbostel to a disused military training centre in the middle of the woods near Löverschen. Upon driving through the gates of the centre the first thing we saw was a road continuing straight ahead through a cluster of small buildings and a multitude of trees. The buildings turned out to be small courts, and three of these were to hold each one ring, whereas the fourth had been turned into a well-stocked cafeteria. We soon discovered that the longhairs were to be judged in court/ring 3 and found a corner for our stuff in there. Then we went out to give the dogs the opportunity of a good sniff around our new surroundings. |
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Once we'd put the show area behind us we could let the dogs roam free without problems, something they enjoyed immensely. Clara immediately picked up a branch and happily carried it around. Milloup was nosing about with his tongue hanging out, and had she been allowed to Coco would have gone driving in the thicket. After our walk Milloup and Coco were placed in their boxes, and Clara was placed on a blanket on top of Coco's box and told to stay there. To my great surprise she did exactly that - irrespective of whether or not Iris was there; Clara stayed where she'd been told to stay. |  |
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Iris apart, I hadn't expected seeing any familiar faces at this show, but first I met a Danish breeder who was there with two of her longhaired dachshunds. They had been up at half past two in order to get to the show on time, I was told. Later on I also met a familiar face from our trip to Berlin, Reiner Schwartz's daughter-in-law, who was back then acting as organizer of the show in Bötzow. She was there with a longhaired mini bred by her, so we all congregated around the longhair ring. First to be judged were the kaninchen, then the minis, and finally the standards, so we had plenty of time for walking around and having a look at what was going on in the other rings. But shortly after noon it was time to make Milloup ready for the show. Milloup didn't quite see the point of all this brushing stuff. There were far too many interesting smells, interesting dogs, etc, so he wriggled and squirmed while I wielded brushes and combs. But at long last we were ready, and then it was our turn. |
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It was cool in the court - too cool, Iris and I had earlier agreed - but this had a good influence on Milloup. Unlike Berlin, where I almost had to drag him around the ring, he walked nicely beside me round the ring several times. When we got back out, Iris told me that he had been both walking and standing to perfection. |
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In Milloup's class there was one more dog, and once that dog had also been judged we all had to go in again. This was judgement time for real. Milloup was given the rating Vorzüglich 1 and VDH-CAC, whereas our opponent had to contend himself with the lesser rating of Sehr Gut 2. I was over the moon, Milloup had won his first CAC. And when that was all settled, I suddenly discovered that I was hungry. Iris was also ready for some lunch, so we entered the cafeteria court and threw ourselves at the bill of fare. In order to get warm, I chose a so-called "Hochzeits soup", a clear soup with dumplings, herbs, and squares of scrambled eggs. It tasted nicely, and best of all, it made me warm. The dogs also liked the scrambled eggs, so everybody was well contented. |  |
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After lunch we again set a course for the part of the area where the dogs could roam freely. We had both brought cameras along, Iris because she dearly wanted to get a photo of Coco standing to perfection, but Coco didn't quite get the point. Each time Iris squatted down to set the camera, Coco ran to her tail wagging, so no picture of the perfectly positioned dog was made. Instead, we could have made any number of pictures of dogs running eagerly towards the photographer. |
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While we were strolling around the woods, Iris and I discussed whether there would be sufficient time for us to take part in the competition for the title of Landessieger. Our train would be leaving Hannover a couple of minutes to 5, and we needed at least 45 minutes for the drive, so it was touch and go. According to the program the smooths were to be judged first, then the longs, and finally the wires - by far the biggest group at the show. "We'll go ask if they can't take the longs first", Iris suggested. |  |
| Iris knew the show organizer - at least by sight, so when we bumped into him outside one of the courts, she didn't tardy in asking. After a little gentle persuasion he gave in. Longhairs would - in order to accommodate the Danish participants - be judged first in the closing competitions. But still it was going to be a battle against the clock. We decided to pack as much as possible into the car and only keep the brushes, the show line, and a blanket to place Milloup on when he must be done up. As an extra precaution Iris fetched the car and parked it as close to court 2 as at all possible. |
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People were now streaming into court 2, and there was nowhere inside the court to give Milloup the final overhaul. So I threw the blanket on a pile of fallen leaves outside, and succeeded (more or less) in persuading Milloup to stop sniffing around and concentrate on his beauty treatment. And soon he was ready for his second appearance that day. |
| With Milloup sitting on my arm I fought my way into the court, reached the ring and bumped into Kerstin Schwartz who with tears of joy streaming down her face was clutching her newly appointed Landessieger. In the ring they were judging the mini bitches, and soon it was our turn. Now the three winners from the Champions, Open and Working classes were competing against one another. We lined up and started walking around the ring. After a few rounds the announcement was made that the judge had made up her mind. Judge Marianne Wein-Gysae had selected the Champion dog for her Landessieger, and I stopped to offer my congratulations to the winner. Onwards, I was told, we have to find the reserve. I'd completely forgotten this, but of course the TDK-CAC-res must be awarded, too. So we continued for a couple of rounds with the two remaining dogs, until the judge decided to award Milloup the CAC reserve. No sooner had I been handed Milloup's pedigree and other papers before we raced out of the court and jumped into the car. Iris had already fetched the things I had left in a heap outside the court, so we were ready for take-off. Milloup just managed to place one last bar code on a post outside the court as a final greeting to the remaining dogs. And then Iris stepped on it in order to reach Hannover on time. Milloup was tired after all the excitement of the day, so for once he snoozed contentedly at my feet instead of climbing all over me in order to look out. We reached the station with 10 minutes to spare, and as Iris couldn't get a parking place we had to say goodbye at the car. Our luggage was unloaded, Iris was given a quick hug and a thanks for our lovely stay in Hannover, and then we followed the stream into the station, while Iris drove home to relax a little and enjoy what sad remains were left of the weekend. Fortunately, the train was not crowded, and I managed to grab hold of two seats side by side, so Milloup would be able to travel in style. He immediately curled up on top of my jacket and fell asleap. Later, however, when I unpacked Iris's mothers food pack, he woke up long enough to help with the demolition and take a drink of water, but in doing that his energy reserves were once again spent. All the way through Germany I had to make do with my own company - and the interesting pedigree books that Iris had lent me. What I hadn't known beforehand was, that the train ride going back was longer - in time - than the journey coming. On the way back there were extended stops in both Hamburg and Padborg, and in Padborg we even had time enough for a quick stroll along the platform to enable Milloup to send a greeting to the fourlegged locals. In Fredericia we also had sufficient time for a small peep outside the station, but we soon discovered that the weather in Denmark was not as dry as that in Germany. In fact, it was a good deal wetter.. On we went by intercity train, and in Århus we just managed to catch the last bus for home. So it was a quarter to one, when we were finally able to crawl the last meters and dump ourselves on the bed. We were home. |
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Updated on 14-8-03 |
