First, I've got to say that the specialty was a great success--though many of the DACA board were unable to make it for various reasons, there were some beautiful dogs at the show, and I got to meet Eduardo Lavado of the great de Los Medanos kennel; as dogo folks will recognize, a great honor.
The adventure started with the random sighting of... a sleepy plott hound!
Now, coonhounds, and particularly Plotts, are not dogs one expects to randomly come across outside the deep South. Spotting one sacked out right in front of you at the airport is pretty random indeed. Bob is actually part Rhodesian ridgeback. He and his littermates ended up in coonhound rescue when the hunter who bred them decided he didn't want to bother with placing them. Luckily Bob seems to have found himself a great home and is on his way to Boston with his new owner.
The show itself was fun, watching
the baby puppies strut their stuff is always a complete crackup.
Here's a winners' photo:
And a shot of the Uniqo trophy collar. PPC Uniqo is the second ever Dogo Argentino Club of America dual-titled Grand Champion. Uniqo is the second recipient of a custom-crafted Raw Dog trophy collar.
After the show I spent a couple days exploring various pet boutiques and shops in and around Austin. Turns out Austin is a fabulously cool city with a true funky and individualistic vibe. It's much like my beloved Eugene in urban form.
One thing I've got to mention. If you ever find yourself in Austin and have even the remotest chance of doing so, you must hit up Chuy's for what can only be described as a "masterpiece of Tex-Mex cusine" (thanks, Sid!). Possibly the highlight of the entire trip, a spicy, creamy concoction of chicken enchiladas in a white jalapeno sauce just... defies description.
I'd gotten the recommendation to stop there for dinner, and due to a total of eight(!) hours worth of flight delays putting me into Austin at 10:00 pm, thought I'd missed my chance. I got a bit lost looking for my hotel, and suddenly, without warning, found myself on a freeway frontage road that spit me directly into a Chuy's parking lot. Clearly, it was meant to be.
I picked up a T-shirt and an order of enchiladas to take back to the hotel which turned out to be just up the street. After sixteen straight hours of travel, I can't even begin to accurately describe the bliss that was, when the very first bite bit back. I've found that meals described as "spicy" on a menu almost never actually are, so that these were really and truly spicy right off the menu was a real treat... but aside from that, they were just... delicious. Sid was not kiddin'.
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