T. and Bob, along with Xena and Astro head down south to visit kin for stud quest 2004! We had a lovely time at Nick Lopiparro's American Rat Terrier Kennel Club convention 2003, Cleveland Tennesee -and Astro surprised us by winning BEST IN SHOW under judge Patty Jeffries over a field of 25 dogs - beating his own champion mother and another champion as well. THANK YOU PATTY!! While this was not a UKC sanctioned judge or event, ie a 'fun match', we thought Astro did pretty good for his very first public debut at only 11 months! Whoda thunk!
Date(s): April 11-12, 2003. Album by robert heller. 1 - 27 of 45 Total. 1280 Visits.
Isn't pic#29 Nick's "Charlie"? Just sired a litter wth Flame and we are getting the lone female! - Rise Smythe-Freed, Sat, 19 Apr 2003 6:34AM
You're welcome. He's adorable. Just remember, I didn't know he was one of Nick's grandchildren until after the show!! Honestly!
Also, the blue dog's name is Keeley. She's also lives in Georgia. - Patti Jeffries, Thu, 17 Apr 2003 5:52PM
1 Rat convention! This is the first day of the event and the focus is on discussion topics. Here we are milling around with Nick (that's HIS butt with the rat terrier patch on the pocket!) and visiting.
2 More milling....... I think that this is the best shot I got of Nick all weekend!
3 Yet more milling... We started out keeping the dogs leashed, but it was so casual and low key, and there were so many well behaved dogs, that we ended up with most off leash!
4 Noodle..... This is a pic of Astro taken by Tracey of K2 kennels. Do you SEE what I mean when I say he is shaped like a macaroni noodle?? Thank goodness he only STANDS this way some times - usually when I have the camera out!
5 The PUNK! RatpiT's Harvest Moon - aka Astro - stands pretty for Bob. We have several shots posted up as we could not decide which one was the best.
6 Astro........ Head turned away! We have no pix of his sire's signature spot - the big red spot on Astro's other side that gave rise to his 'harvest moon' name. Astro's sire 'Gold Moon' tends to produce this spot in nearly all of his pups!
7 The moon is out -and so is the Noodle... In this pic you can see Astro's moon, and also the noodle - doesn't he look like a macaroni?
8 Which is better? This one or........
9 THIS one? I think he may have his rear quarters coupled a tad closer, or perhaps its just the light, but the pix look different and I can't tell if one is nicer than the other. If you can decide, do tell!
10 Monkeying around..... Everyone takes an opportunity to get the dogs familiar with the agility stuff and the show ring.
11 "Yak, yakka, yak..." Gals chatter while this lovely girrl poses!
12 I just love that spot! I just love the spot near her rear - it reminds me of a 'yin-yang'.
13 Amber and ? The dogs are on leash and getting to know each other...
14 Getting looser... Leads dropped and soon to be removed. Can rat runs be far away?
15 Shorty This fella is named Shorty - he was a real card!
16 Max! Max was a real character, and his ticked-tri pattern - if you look close - also appears to be brindle! Max's owner (Scott?) told us that Max has been bred 3 times now and has not produced it, nor has he produced his lovely ticking in any of his pups either.
17 Amber in action! The RAT RUNS have begun!
18 Most dogs off leash..... Most got along with each other, and needless to say, there was a WHOLE lotta butt sniffing going on!
19 Blue dog..... I think her name was Sissy, and she was 10 years old! I never woulda guessed, as she looked like a pup!
20 Amber again...... Can you tell that I really like this dog? I normally dislike the calico pattern, but I had never seen it on a chocolate like this before - stunning!
21 Amber in front...... Shorty in back...
22 Shorty.... Can you tell by his conformation where his name came from?
23 Shorty and Max..... These boyz live in the same house and Shorty took it upon himself to give Max grief when he could!
24 Pretty Max! Poses nicely with his owner now that Shorty is out of the picture!
25 Nick's place........ The sun is setting and the dogs are still all full of HUNT!
26 Nick at nite..... This is after the conference and night is rapidly falling. We were lucky to get the pix we did with the light we had. This is Nick with Cocoa - one of my favorite pix!
27 Nick and Cocoa There was another gal who was very lovey dovey too - Flame (sorry, no pic.) Both of these dogs are in Astro's pedigree, but due to lack of space I had to leave the Ass behind. Too bad - he would have liked to meet the rest of his kin!
