But officer, I didn't mean to...

Westminster, even for a mere interested observer, is the most exhausting dog show ever. I go there only to socialize, and find myself staring blankly at people who I've known for years, and kicking myself all the way home because I've met exciting new people and only said "nice dogs this year" when I really have a TON of things to say to them, or, more to the point, ASK them. I just can't imagine how the people who are actually there with their dogs hold up so well. I suspect I'd be curled up in a crate weeping by mid-afternoon.

And we all know what a tribute it is to the temperament of the spinone that the dogs hold up so beautifully. We were benched near Dogues de Bordeaux and Dobermans, and every once in a while there was some notable evidence of tempers fraying.

I drifted away from the dog show at about 4:00, fully intending to return in an hour after walking my dogs at home. But once I was home, Pete and Annie were SO glad to see me that I walked them, fed them, and settled down on the couch with them for just a LITTLE rest...

Just as I flipped on the TV to watch the sporting group from the comfort of my living room, Pete started doing the FETCH OF MISCELLANEOUS UNSOLICITED OBJECTS. (This behavior proves that I am really training him, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and should not be discouraged.) So he brought me a sock, then a leg from a dismembered squeaky, then a wire coat hanger (NO!), all of which I received with gratitude and loud praise. But then, what does he bring me? Oh saints.

Don't worry, it had a happy ending, but I remind you: Make sure all medications are up high in a cupboard; spinoni are always happy to get things from the tops of pianos and bookshelves, and are work in close cooperation with cats when you aren't looking. Discard empty pill bottles some place that they can't be gotten back from. Try harder to remember how empty or full the pill bottles you keep are. Don't assume that your GOOD dog can be trusted, there is no such thing as an angel spinone. And above all, if your middle-aged memory (called by some "encroaching senility") cannot be relied on to cough up really essential information in an emergency...

Well, I forget, but I'm pretty sure I won't forget Tuesday night for a long time.