Its come to my attention that I never posted about my trip to the UK and specifically my experience at the 120th DFS Crufts 2011.  I guess I got so caught up in trying to get back to normal life that it just slipped my mind completely, oops.  Well here it is, for what its worth….. MY TRIP!

I met some of the most wonderful people in the whole world (well at least in the UK, lol) and have made some of the best friendships that I hope to nurture over the years to come.  The Saint Bernard people went above and beyond to include me in their festivities and the behind the scenes at Discover Dogs at Crufts and Crufts itself.  I learned soooo much about traveling (Rule number one  – dont wear brand spankin’ new shoes on the airplane/airport.  I started off my adventure with one dilly of a blister .  Oh and what we call a band aid in the US is a plaster in the UK.  I got a few funny looks when requesting a band aid),  dog handling in shows, Saint Bernards as a breed and the difference between the European and American standards for the Saint Bernard, Labrador and many other breeds.  I am already saving my pennies for next year…

After two days in London I ventured up to Coventry Binley where a group of us were staying.  It was quiet and away from the hubbub of Crufts – oh and cheap.  Cheap is good when traveling in England, everything is so expensive.  The first night, I met up with two of my friends (Alex and Susana) from Portugal who own Saints and were showing their dog Bernarda at Crufts.  A group of their friends whom also traveled from Portugal to England for Crufts joined us for dinner at Nando’s.

This isnt exactly the most flattering photo of me, but I just loved Cody (IR & GB CH Pippanabbey Power Play With Lanebern CJW 06) and he loved me.  I can not even describe to you how HUGE this dog is.  His head is the size of a beach ball.

I spent the day at Discover Dogs in the Saint Bernard booth with some of the folks from the English Saint Bernard Club.  I got to hang out with the dogs, meet the public, hand out flyers and answer questions about Saints.  Here I am at the booth with Martina (Slovakia) of St Fellix King’s Saint Bernards, Hendrick (Germany) of Khedive Saint Bernards, Kathy Lane (England) of Lanebern Saint Bernards, Karlai Hau (England) of LakariBay Saint Bernards and me.  We had so much fun and it was such a great experience.  That night a huge group of the Saint people met at Toby Carvery and had a group dinner and get together.  Can I just say, I LOVE Yorkshire Pudding!  The best thing I had to eat my entire trip, its England you know .

Discover Dogs Gallery

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The next day I tried my hand at showing.  Lets just say, it was an adventure.  It was soo overwhelming, but the judge was so nice.  We had a few snags in our “performance” but still placed 3rd in our group and qualified for next year.  Not bad for a complete noob in a foreign country .

Getting a quick lesson with DeeDee (Ourfairview’s Devine Denise)…

Suited up and ready to Show.  With Cheri (Ourfairview St Bernards), DeeDee’s Owner.

Here I am in the Ring

Crufts Gallery

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Sadly, I didnt take nearly the number of pictures I had anticipated I would.  I really enjoyed watching and socializing so I totally forgot to snap.  It was such a great experience.  I learned so much.  It really opened my eyes to the world of dog showing. some good, some bad… but hey, what better way of being introduced to showing than jumping head first into the biggest, deepest pond around.  Who knows… someday I may have my very own show Saint.  But for now, I’m totally content with my rescues; loving on them and allowing them live the lap of luxury on the couch, getting dirty, playing, with home made treats, toys and belly rubs galore – just being, dogs.  Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many rosettes are on the wall or trophies are added to the cabinet, its about the dogs – Its the dogs life, after all.