Now at a computer near you, the 2008 Dog Show

Thanks, Wags, for letting us know about the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show while it was taking place. Yes, we all love Uno! Beagles are such great dogs and Uno is really a handsome dog with lots of spirit. The judges did a good job of choosing an exceptional dog, don't you think?

Of the two of us, you have a greater passion for adopting strays and dogs of undefined heritage, yet you also love the dog shows much more.

I have always had a distinct preference for pedigreed dogs -- we had a golden retriever of impeccable breeding when I was a little girl. Rebecca of Bark Point, Huntress of Gold. Becky to her friends. I find it hard to recommend to anyone that they adopt a rescue dog, especially a puppy -- just too many unknowns to me (a whole other discussion for the blog one day). On the other hand, I’m not so keen about dog shows and have never been to one.

Call me cynical, but these dog shows really exist to help breeds gain popularity so the breeders can charge a bigger dollar for the puppies churned out. The dog shows encourage people to breed, buy and sell dogs to the very same people that you, Wags, think should be visiting the local anti-cruelty society for their new puppy. One of life's little ironies...

Still, Wags, you and Uno peaked my interest in the 2008Dog Show. Turns out, you don’t need to watch it on TV. A good deal of it is on the Westminster Kennel Club’s fantastic website. Kudos to them! The breed judging videos allow anyone to take a look at the best examples of each breed. (An improvement to their site would be a better identification of all the dogs being considered...there is only video and music, but no announcer for each of the videos.)

This gave me an opportunity to ponder what Jake’s heritage really is. Jake-in-the-crate was presented to me as “Apple,” a border collie mix/Australian cattle dog (ACD). He clearly has border collie coloring (although, so do may other breeds, including Canaan dogs). Many people say he looks totally ACD in shape and form, while other say, is that an Akita? is he part German Shepherd (prick ears and brown markings on his face)? Few say, oh, what a beautiful border collie. I’m going to explore this question more in the future.