State level! Wow! I hope she still has dogs.
Fond memory: Cory was anxious to play at Trout Pond and leaped from the passenger seat while I was still behind the wheel. I’m lying on my back with him straining at his leash as this horrified woman backs away from us. “You’re not afraid of dogs, I hope,” I called, as she moved away even faster.
Hint: do NOT run with a leashed Irish Wolfhound. Or, if you do, be prepared for grass-stained jeans.
The old Daniel Boone show in the 60s with Fess Parker in the starring role. I remember one show scene where someone was asked if Daniel had passed through recently...was described as a big guy.
“Ma’am, I’ve driven horses smaller than him. I remember.”
Likewise with the Wolfhounds.
(My daughter qualified three times for the state level show in Obedience and Grooming and Handling. Good thing the dogs were the criteria for qualification under those class names, cuz my daughter wouldn’t have made it. Just kidding...)
On the hounds again: I’ve run tractors smaller than those guys. They certainly do have soulful faces.
No more thread slidin’ from me unless dogs and tractors are brought up. Can’t control myself.
My cousin, Jack, raised and trained Irish Wolfhounds. I was visiting him one day, and he suggested we go jogging (this was a looong time ago, when he and I were in our prime)...with Casey, his wolfhound. Sure! so we set out, he and I and the dog. Casey apparently decided we weren’t running fast enough, so he took my hand in his mouth to pull me along a little faster. He was very gentle about it, but he took my WHOLE Hand, up past the wrist, into his mouth, all the way into his mouth, without having to bite down, without interfering with his breathing! “Don’t worry,” said Jack, “He is just trying to get you to keep up with him.”
Magnificent hound; his head alone was the size of my cocker spaniel. Casey was a real sweetheart.