As for Doc Martin, he really does like animals and is friendly with the dog on the show..I saw an interview with him, I disliked the show at first because he seemed mean, after the interview I could enjoy the show knowing he was a good actor.

Westminster...pekingese came in runner up after the winner for the toy group....the shih tzu. Love those pekes.

I've become disenchanted with the Doc. I have enough people like him in real life, I don't need additional time being entertained by one.

A friend's 16 yr old daughter works for CJ's owner/handler on weekends, and got to go to Westminster to help. She's walking on air right now, it's been fantastic. I am so happy for her. If you look up the New York Times pictorial of behind the scenes, you'll see her. We are all so proud of this poised young lady who wants to be a professional handler herself.

Good for her!! I'm proud of her too, getting out there to work with the very best at such a young age!

I know. Thanks for the photo. Cute dogs.

Thanks for the photo....that's the Martin I saw on the interview...

I'm not a dog fan. Sorry.

I don't watch Doc Martin, other than a few episodes but I am a dog lover. I have 2 rescues. I was very disturbed when I was at the vet a couple of weeks ago and was kind of leaning over the counter talking to the gals and I saw a piece of paper taped up with rates for euthanasia and they had a "group rate". It makes me physically sick to type that now, I just want to cry. They are the vet that the humane society works with, so I'm sure those are the unwanted dogs from there. Makes me want to go and adopt them all and be the crazy dog lady:(

Sleeper, how upsetting. Why can't our society get this dog and cat overpopulation situation under control?? what are people thinking when they irresponsibly allow animals to reproduce?

I'm a huge dog fan, but not a fan of dog shows. I don't have a dog now, and it's the first time in almost 50 years. The main reason is our poorly maintained dirt road. In winter it always has a layer of ice, and I fell several times walking the last of the dogs. It got to the point where I'd tie a 30-ft. lead onto the back door and let them out that way. It was okay because they were elderly, but a younger dog would need more exercise than I could provide.

I suppose I could manage with a little dog, but to me they're almost a separate species. It's the medium and large dogs I miss. Big, wonderful rescues.

Sleeperblues....I keep watching those "Paws" dog rescue videos because I like the happy ending. Makes me cry every time I see those poor dears. I would LOVE to be the crazy dog lady....DH keeps me on a tight leash.

I've never been a fan of the dog shows, partly because it is all about whether the dog looks like it would be good at the job for which the breed was originally bred for, by how closely, in the judges opinion, it hews to the accepted "breed standard". However in many cases the "breed standard" has evolved over time to the point where the dogs of a given breed are no longer physically capable of performing their original purpose. The accepted practice of repeated inbreeding to "fix" the desired look for the breed often also "fixes" genetic problems such as increased susceptibility to spinal problems, weak hips, deafness, blindness, kidney stones, blood diseases or many forms of cancer.

Partly this outlook was inculcated in me during the years I was a member of the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America, who at the time vociferously opposed the AKC plans to recognize and include Jack Russell Terriers. The process for having a dog registered with the JRTCA is: wait until they are 1 year old, submit a detailed genealogy which must not show more than a minimum amount of inbreeding, submit submit photos of the dog that show that the dog conforms to the breed standard, submit a veterinary certificate stating that dog does not exhibit any heritable ailment, and must include a test for deafness and blindness. Plus to win the Best Dog award at the JRTCA shows the dog must not only look like it would be good at hunting small animals, it actually has to have demonstrated an ability and affinity for actually doing so.

Whereas with the AKC, the process of registering a dog is : buy two dogs of the desired breed that are registered with the AKC, breed them, send money to the AKC for each puppy, sell them for lots of money. Rinse and repeat.

Unsurprisingly the JRTCA failed to stop the AKC from registering the breed because -- money.

The AKC is indeed a crock. It's all about the money. They do no inspections; continue to register on 'papers' that go back twenty generations. They don't go after false papers. A puppy mill only needs to mail in that supposed 'trail' of blood lines with the cash and, boom, you have a 'valuable' litter to sell. Nobody knows how many mills are churning out "AKC Registered" dogs, and the AKC doesn't care. (They'd only need to look at their own records to identify mills.)

There are responsible breeders. I'm all for buying direct from a local breeder you can visit and get references on from local breed clubs.

That's what I always wondered about chisue...once, about 30 years ago we adopted a dog that was supposed to be AKC, the owners gave us paperwork in case we wanted to register her, I was thinking there's no real proof this is a purebred anyway, the peke we have now is probably a mix, I just don't know what else he is except that he weighs 21 pounds! Doesn't matter, we love him....

Nicole, are you talking about those Hope for Paws videos? I love them, and they always make me cry. I think those people are saints. DH keeps me on a tight leash, too. I brought home the two rescues without asking him first, so I guess he has a reason for that!