A novice dog owner
buys a very promising young puppy. She listens to and actually follows the
breeder’s advice. She searches relentlessly for the handler who will do her dog
justice.
Miraculously, she
finds one – and he agrees to handle at the Canadian National.
She goes to the show
with the now young adult and shows under a judge who actually (gasp!) judges
the dogs. She goes Winners Dog, Best of Winners and then Select.
Imagine that!
In essence, that is
the story of Mar Haven’s Next In Line Reno and his owner, Sharon Gabrielson.
Sharon writes:
“I have always had a passion for the breed. I purchased
my first German Shepherd in 1990 for my family as a pet. Reviewing her pedigree
we realized she was from show lines. . .
After retiring from the Department of Corrections, I began to venture toward the
conformation ring with my daughter, Kelly, who was eager to show. While
attending a show, we happened to be sitting next to Sandi Card, who provided a
great deal of information regarding conformation. Later, Kelly and I decided to
give this a try. During a show, Kent Boyles approached us. Kent struck up
a conversation and was helpful and informative as we were clearly new to this
group. Kent’s
knowledge of the German Shepherd breed is unsurpassed.
“After
retiring, I became more interested and
committed to conformation showing. Sandi, who had now been my mentor in the
show world for the past 15 years, introduced me to Carolyn Martello. Sandy was aware of what I was looking for and Carolyn took
special care in selecting Reno.
Carolyn was patient and understood what I was in search of, as she also
understood I was new to the conformation ring. Reno is much more than a good conformation
dog. He has a mind and temperament to die for. Thank you, Frank and Carolyn,
for this wonderful animal.”
For us, the
highlight of Sharon’s story is this: Sharon had a rough time
before finding the right handler. At one point, she was told that the dog wasn't
very good. That it would take a lot of money and a long time to finish him – if
at all.
But rather than
believe them, and complain that she was sold a dud, Sharon went to the breeder. She got sound
advice and followed it.
Kent Boyles then
evaluated the dog and told her he would make an opening in three months. He did
just that. Reno
won, and the rest is History. Or rather, the rest is 2008 Canadian National
WD/BOW and Select Am CH Mar Haven’s Next In Line Reno OFA H/E.
It’s too bad that
some spectators and exhibitors can’t be happy for someone else – particularly for
someone so new to the conformation ring, experiencing a prestigious win this early. It's too bad that some cannot see the fundamental anomaly in this. It does not happen often that a novice dog owner listens to a breeder, finds the right handler - who then agrees to show the dog - and wins at a National Specialty.
More people like Sharon will take the fancy much farther than all that nastiness.
We say, “Congratulations
Sharon. May there be many more in your future.”