imported_Sayuri

Yes - I watch it every year. It's usually a pretty spectacular show and the winners often give you a bit of a clue as to how things *might* work out at Westminster...it's always a bit of a surprise at the Garden though.

HF - I know exactly where you are coming from! A family in my neighborhood basically doesn't supervise their kids at all. They come to our house at all hours and we basically become a babysitting service - I've done things for them that other parents would pay me to do, but it's hopeless in this case because their parents don't really look at parenting as if it's required. They just set the kids loose from dawn till dusk. Tai is ok with them, but if there is one thing Kimi can't stand, it's kids going ape and running around the house screaming. She's never bitten anyone, but then, when they're over I have to watch 24/7 to be sure that they won't provoke her. They stick fingers in her face, whap her in the head, and start shrieking when they see her. I have talked to them I don't know how many times about the appropriate way to greet a dog, and they ignore it every time. Then one kid has the nerve to tell me that I need to lock MY dogs in the backyard while he's there! We've also had kids climbing over our fence into the yard with the dogs - they're not biters, but they are watchful - what are they supposed to think when someone is sneaking over a fence at dusk? What worries me most is that this family is getting animals now - the first cat was picked up by the children and dashed to the sidewalk several times, stuffed into mailboxes, etc. (I really let fly when I saw those things happen) Miraculously, she survived into adulthood, only to be run over by their own car in their driveway. Enter Insta-Replacement Kitty, who, still basically a kitten herself, became pregnant, and had a litter, enthralling the little kids, who essentially used them as little dolls. She's never seen a veterinarian. Now I hear they are thinking of getting a dog - considering their idea of parenting, I shudder to think of the life this poor animal will have.

I love Shiba Inus of course, but I also love the look of Alaskan Malamutes and Dobermans.