Sometimes a news story walks right up to you. While sitting on a city bench, a lovely lady, Christine, joined me and recounted the exact moment she fell in love.
“Sixty-five years ago, when I was seven,” said Christine, “My mother’s friend arrived with a majestic-mystical
Pekingese. I fell head over heals in love with its beauty. I remember sitting on the floor caressing the living-doll-like dog like it was this morning.
After that experience, every year when asked what gift I would like for my birthday and Christmas I hopefully replied, ‘A Pekingese please.’
But mother continually responded, “No! Our 30 sporting show dogs will think a Pekingese puppy is a rabbit and kill it. End of story!” So
she thought!
Years later, my fiancé asked what I wanted for a wedding gift? Finally, someone heard me! The resulting fluffy Oregonian Pekingese puppy was the best gift I ever received!
Being raised with show dogs, I traveled to England and bought five more Pekingese from fabulous bloodlines and began ‘my hobby’ of showing, breeding and producing top winning Pekingese. I bred sparingly, producing one or two litters every two or three
years. Peke’s average litter size is 2.5 puppies, and ‘somehow’ I ended up keeping the best of the litters until we eventually had 15!
To share my ‘Peke addiction’, in 1973, I founded the Western Canada Pekingese Club and began judging Pekingese at the Championship Sweepstakes level, as well as all breeds at U.S.A. and Canadian sweepstakes and sanction matches.I had some Sleeve Pekingese, so named because the Imperial Chinese Emperors in the Forbidden City Palaces
in Peking (now Beijing) wore the under five pound dogs in their sleeves.
I was once offered a fabulous sum of money for my 2 ½ pound, Sleeve ‘Toots’ by the Tibetan spiritual king, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, but as hard up as I was at the time, I could not bear her living far away. Instead of becoming spiritual royalty, she lived her 12 1/2 years with me.
(Note Dolly’s extra furry paws! According to Her Imperial Majesty
Tzu-Hsi Dowager Empress of China, ‘Let its feet be tufted, with plentiful hair that its footfall may be soundless.’)
Eventually, the rest of my elderly Pekes died naturally and the grief made me resolve to not have any more dogs, move into an apartment, and travel!
Then, I met a woman who said, ‘I want to get into the professional dog showing world’. So, I introduced her to a Pekingese breeder who had a lovely female and suggested
a suitable male to breed her to. I was thrilled to mentor a new breeder and see the resulting four beautiful puppies! Of course, I did not want one.
The littlest pup, Dolly, was too small for breeding. Pekingese brood bitches usually weigh 10 to 12 pounds. But, at my birthday party, after several glasses of wine, my dog addiction blurted out ‘I WILL BUY DOLLY!’. She was too perfect, I HAD to show her!
Then, reality set
in! My house had sold and the task was on to find a pet friendly apartment! Fortunately, I found one full of other pet lovers.
Here are the stats for those who understand the ABC’s of the canine show world. Dolly, now known as B.I.S./R.B.I.S Can. GCh. Am. Ch. Littlelion China Doll, CGN (Canine Good Neighbor). She is an All Breed Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show winning Canadian Grand Champion and an American Champion and was the top winning female
Pekingese and overall third top winning Pekingese in Canada in 2012, in limited owner handler showing. She then graduated fourth out of 20 dogs at her obedience class. She also has her Therapy Dog Certificate, so she can make dementia patients in care homes smile.
Two years ago, on a dark and stormy night, we were deluged by rain. Dolly and I were snuggled in bed, she on my pillow!At 4 a.m., she awakens me with a low growl, and continues growling as she walks down
her doggy steps off ‘our’ bed.
We live on the building’s penthouse floor and that night the adjoining two suites were unoccupied.
I heard a soft blip, blip, blip, and discovered water leaking from a bathroom fan. I put a bucket under it and from 4 a.m. to 8.30 a.m., I emptied a full bucket every half hour!
By alerting me, Dolly saved every suite below us from ANY water damage! The other two suites on our
floor, down to the first floor all flooded!
It is unreasonable that apartment buildings do not allow pets. Dolly is our building’s hero and apartment owners should be aware of the value of resident dogs. Allowing dogs also alerts occupants to criminal activity.
Dolly charms everyone she meets including show judges and those we pass while outside walking! Just like that first little Peke did to me, all those years
ago.”
