| My name is
Gloria and I have the best job in the world! I
am a dog food demo girl. What that means is that I travel up and
down the east coast and talk to wonderful people about my favorite
thing in the universe - dogs! |
| My
experience with dogs started when I was a kid. We always had a dog
(or two or three!) in the house. They were primarily mixed breed
rescues and/or cast-off's but it is they who have given me some of my
best doggy memories. Spike was the Beagle that cornered my mom in
the kitchen (I was very young, don't ask!). Bobby was the
Basset/Beagle mix that dad found in the weekly newsletter from the
dairy that delivered our milk (remember having a milk man?). Muffet
was the first dog that was "all mine" and carried with her
the provision that I learn all about Poodles (little did my parents
know then, huh?). I trained her more like a horse than a dog
because, in truth, at the time, it was a pony I wanted, not a dog!
She was a wonderful little animal, learning to work on a long line
and do combination jumps that I set up in the back yard. I laugh now
when I think about Muffet - she was doing agility
before anyone had ever thought about it! Sartre, the German Shepherd
mix, was my "college" dog - and probably paid
better attention in Statistics than I ever did! She accompanied me
everywhere - even spending a few nights at the "Old
Grey Mare" listening to the anti-war bands and budding poets. |
|
I got involved in Show Dogs almost 30 years ago. I started off in
hounds - Pharaoh Hounds, to be exact - and after many
successes (I STILL have a Pharaoh Hound in the Top Ten All-Breed
Point System and I haven't shown in over 12 years!) and much fun
(Lure Coursing is a blast!), was forced to switch to a smaller
breed - some pretty extensive back surgery saw to that!
I now show and breed Miniature Poodles (which my Hound friends think
is pretty funny but ....!) and now keep 18 of the curly little
critters. |
|
Almost three years ago, my best friend and mentor in the Poodles,
Sharon Isgro, passed away. She left me her dogs and her kennel name
- Rochambeau. It was quite the legacy - over 50
champions, numerous top producers, and a name familiar to everyone
in Poodles, no matter what the Variety. |
|
You know something? I am lucky! How many people can really say that
they live their passion? But I do ... at dog shows and 4-H Fairs,
and agricultural fairs, and even local carnivals. How cool is that?
It is all about the dogs ... and, to me, that is just as it should
be. |
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