Monday,January 15,2007
I saw them on the Today show this morning. The top three, of the top ten breeds in America. They had the whole list of the ten, but only saw fit to produce the top three. Probably just as well. Three was a struggle. Ten would have been chaos! But, I digress.According to the AKC, the top three breeds of dogs are;
- The Golden Lab retriever.
- The Yorkie
- The German Shepherd
I quickly scanned the remaining list they posted on the screen, while they rambled on about how trustworthy and playful the lab is,and the "portability" of the little Yorkie was,as a little carry along,considered, by now famous,made so by the likes of Paris Hilton, and Britaney Spears, who both carry their little Chihuahuas with them, even on the red carpet.This is not new, however. I recall my mother had a brown and tan Chihuahua,named "Mouse", which she was in the habit of carrying on her arm, and took everywhere, even into restaurants, because mouse blended right in with mother's mink stole.Most people didn't even realize there was a dog there,for mouse, being a retired show dog, didn't even move when on "display"! It worked like a charm until one day when mother was talking to the hostess of the place, mouse moved, and the girl jumped,and said, "Oh, my gosh! I didn't realize!" It didn't matter tho, they let her in anyway! So, I understand that. Mother was so attached to mouse, she hated to leave the little thing alone for the evening, because those tiny dogs have a tendency to howl and grieve all the time their master or mistress is gone.
And as they talked on, my mind went wandering back to Mom and mouse,and I am afraid whatever it was they said extolling the virtues of the German Shepherd; I missed it completely, because by then, I was annoyed. But what irked me to the max, was of all the top ten dogs listed, there wasn't a Collie, Border Collie,toy Collie, or Sheltie amongst them! Now, how does this happen? The most beautiful, the most intelligent canines in all of dogdom,and they don't even make the top ten? I have seen it coming, of course, since every dog show befitting of the name has pared down the "show" part to only the last rounds of the competitions, to the best of class, and avoiding entirely the breed on breed shows. Most disappointing to me, is that by the time the show gets to that point, for some incomprehensible reason, rarely does one even see a Collie,or if there is one there, nine times out of ten, it is of the nearly unrecognizable "bearded" type...which to me is tantamount to seeing no Collie at all. This shirttail relative of the gorgeous true Collie, or "Highland Sheep dog" is more a walking haystack than a dog, and with all that hair, if it possesses any of the Collie's classic lines, they are completely obliterated to the human eye,and can only be detected by touch...which leaves all the power and ability to make the call on who is possibly going to make the cut, up to only the judge for that particular class. Only they can touch the dog, and feel if the ribs and spine are of the lines to put that dog in the top notch. It used to be that everyone at the show could look on at a Collie competition, and be able to tell, which of those magnificent animals was the world beater. Which one had the most perfect physique, from the wedge shaped head, with the "look of eagles" of the eyes, and tulip ears, to the depth of it's chest,and breadth of the powerful musculature of it's fore-legs,and the sleek lines along it's sides to the haunches,every inch was readily visible to scrutinize, and one could tell when a group of Sable-and-white Collies entered the ring,by these signs which ones would be in the final competition,because the ones that had the deepest snowy ruff, the fullest coat with the soft downy undercoat,and the long wavy rough outer coat, brushed until it sparkled, and the correct markings along with that perfection of body and spirit, would take your breath away! And, it didn't matter if it was the Collie of the dark mahogany type, or the golden,or the red,from the long thin nose, to the brush of the full tail,all of them were beautiful and elegant, and there wasn't a single one amongst them who would shake and throw drool all over the place as some other breeds do! Unless, of course, the poor animal was sick.
So, what can this be about? Surely everyone knows and Loves Lassie. Are breeders getting so lazy they can't raise Collies,and give them the grooming attention they need and deserve? Or, is there some underlying prejudice against Lassie? But, no, I cannot believe that. Were that the case, then why is the German Shepherd in the top three? Have we forgotten Rin-Tin-Tin? Wasn't Old Yeller a golden retriever?
Whatever the problem is, what ever the case, I am deeply saddened that the most beautiful,intelligent,loyal dog on the face of the earth is now being passed over, time after time.
OUI?
Posted by: Nicole | January 17, 2007 at 02:22 PM