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On April 25th, 26th, and 27th, the North American Deutsch Kurzhaar Club held this year’s annual meeting in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was hosted superbly by the Great Lakes Region. It goes without saying that they always make sure all facets are covered and well planned to allow the members to enjoy themselves and the dogs. Thank you Butch, Larry, and Mark and, of course, you guys are next to nothing without your wives’ guidance and directions.
The gathering began on Friday with a conformation show which displayed a fair number of dogs, both male and female, with adult and junior age groups for each gender. Julie Griswold was in charge of the event and also had the pleasure of making several laps around the show ring leading various dogs including her own. Margitta Albertsen and Rob Engelking judged the Zuchtschau with Jörg Kaltenegger and Bill English as apprentices, which tells me that these dogs were well scrutinized before ratings were announced. Probably, the most memorable moment was having Herb Pacheco being awarded V1 twice for both his male and female. This was quite an honor for Herb and the breeders of his dogs. There were other “V” rated dogs and an abundance of “SG” males and females. All the results are posted on the website for your viewing. After the dogs were put away, the crowd filtered back into the hotel, and had the evening to themselves. The smart ones ate dinner and had a good night’s sleep, and then there were the not so smart ones who ambled on into the hotel lounge and decided to see how late Michigan law would allow alcohol to be served…
Probably, the most memorable moment was having Herb Pacheco being awarded V1 twice for both his male and female. This was quite an honor for Herb and the breeders of his dogs.
The following morning was to be the Board Meeting. I am not sure what time they started, but it was before my arrival and needless to say they didn’t wait for me to get the meeting started. I arrived in time to hear reports from several board members. Rich Dobey gave a synopsis of the membership numbers and compared them to previous years and also rifled through expenses and incomes the club had incurred over the past few months. It seems that we are in good financial condition and the membership is holding a steady census. Breed Warden, Rich Runge reported on puppy numbers, litters, and other data revolving around getting these dogs into hands of potential members who will test and continue with the cause. Julie Griswold also spoke on behalf of her position with the club and made a plea to the entire club to make sure that our paperwork is completed and done correctly. She spends a bunch of time reviewing and correcting the documents that then go to Germany for permanent records and if this is not done, the testing cannot be verified. Dave Henderson and Rick Medina had the unmitigated nerve to request a budget be put into place for advertising…? What is that all about…? You want money to spend to promote DK’s…? After much discussion and begging by Henderson, it was the decision of the board to create an advertising budget and allow Dave and Rick to spend this money in ways that will hopefully benefit the NADKC and its members. I am writing about the advertising in a joking manor because I don’t think that it should even be a question. I feel that if we are going to advance the NADKC, we need to get the word out and inspire new membership. Check out what these guys did last year at Pheasant Feast. Great Job, Dave and Rick, and all your helpers..! (Okay, my rant is over…) Many other items were talked about and several motions for amendments were made… for a full recount of the meeting, the minutes should be available on the website. Check it out, it’s OUR club…
Annual Meeting Zuchtschau
The Board meeting finally adjourned, next up was the evening festivities, “The Banquet”… It was held at the Big Rapids Holiday Inn lower party room. As you entered the room from the elevator, the first thing that caught your eye was a beautiful handmade quilt with a different DK appliquéd in each inset block of cloth. It was made and donated by Sandy Grover and it was easily the most sought-after prize of the show. After you got past the quilt there were an abundance of other raffle and auction items for all to take a chance at winning. Items ranged from e-collars to leads, from shotguns to water bowls, we even had a toilet that was some sort of feeding station or flower pot, not exactly sure what or where it ended up, but it brought a lot of laughs and helped propel an entertaining evening. But prior to all the dispensing of the artifacts, awards were handed out and recognition was given to handlers and club memberswho displayed qualities worthy of such tribute. Julie Griswold received the Willy Engelking Award. Rich Runge received the Klaus Kiefer Award. Rich Runge and Nancy Schneider each received Golden Needle Awards. Along with theses esteemed awards, many handlers and breeders were recognized for accomplishments made during the previous year. There were several VGP plates awarded… those are the pinnacle trophy in the Deutsch Kurzhaar world, if you know what I mean…? A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to all who took home some hardware!! Now back to the raffle… I know that I bid the price up on the shotgun and thought I had it bought, but no, someone wanted it more than me; then I thought I had the Purina dog food bought, but no, someone wanted that more than me. Then I thought I would see if I could sneak in and buy that one of a kind, exquisite quilt. I saw immediately that someone wanted that a lot more than me. I believe that Mark Moses wanted it pretty bad… I mean 4 figures bad… I’ll bet that he ain’t using that blanket to have a summer picnic on… So at least, I ended up with a nice shotgun case and retrieving dummy.. and the meal wasn’t too bad either.
Sunday morning and it’s time for the Derby. About a dozen vehicles gather in front of the hotel and line up to follow the leader to the test grounds. The drive takes about twenty minutes and we’re there. Tom Skinner, Manny Boutsikakis, Dan Vining, Andy Ertl, Julie Griswold, and Blaine Wilkey were the handlers scheduled to test their pups. They had a large open field which I would estimate to be 300 meters each direction, with very short grass that was bordered by knee high cover where the birds were located for the pointing portion. Each dog was led to the release point and each did the work that was expected by the judging team of Robert Engelking, Rich Runge, Gary McKee, and Butch Grover. All dogs received scores of Prize I with two of them receiving a 4H for field search. If you are interested in which dogs received a 4H check out the scores on the website and while you’re there browse around at the other information that’s there; you might find interest in some of the material that’s posted.
In closing this edition of the Murphy Report, I would like to thank the Great Lakes Region for their planning this event and the hospitality they extend every time I have had the pleasure of visiting them. Also want to thank the members of our Executive Committee. It is a job that they do for the love and betterment of the Deutsch Kurzhaar breed. You are dedicated… finally, thanks to the membership for taking interest…if we got No Members, we got No Club… get involved. See you at the training grounds.
