Showsight May 2017

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

by PAT BULLARD

W hat would you change if you could start all over in the dog world? I imagine I’m not the only one who has been given a second chance. Life takes us away from our passion and sometimes brings us back again. Sometimes other responsibilities or unexpected changes take us away and sometimes tragedy. In my case it was a tragic car accident on our way home from the Ravenna, Ohio shows in August of 1991. Up to that point I had been campaigning Maltese specials and had just begun my breeding program, but after the accident I left the sport for many years. In 2012, when the last of my old line was geriatric, I put a post on social media asking if any of my Maltese friends could help me find a puppy. Fortunately, I got an answer right away from my most trusted and respected friends in the breed, Tara Martin Row- ell and Vicki Abbott of Scylla Maltese. All I asked for was a pet puppy since I’d never had the courage to go in the ring myself in the old days. The puppy they sent me was a joyful little guy and he awakened my passion for the show world again. I asked if I might learn to show by showing him and off we went to training class. Even though I had a history of suc- cess in our breed from the past it didn’t

change that, as a handler, I was a rank novice. So much has changed in the grooming world since my old days. New products and new methods have had to be mastered but, most of all, overcoming the anxiety and nervous- ness of being an exhibitor has been a huge challenge. Standing beside me and behind me with untold support are my mentors, Tara and Vicki. I should also add that I was 60 years old when I began my second chance and I can no longer hear. Our first show was in Chattanooga, Tennessee and a fellow exhibitor agreed to meet me the night before to show me how to put up 21st century style top knots. My little guy took second in his class the first day and I was so nervous I missed going back into the ring for reserve. We had better luck at our next show and picked up a couple of single points. That first boy finished with three majors, the last being five points and I’d already begun dreaming of coming back to breeding by that time. I’ve already said how much I respect and treasure my mentors, but it was at this point that I did some hard thinking about how I wanted to change from the first time around, how much time I have left to be a productive contributor to the Maltese through breeding and what would happen to the program when I am no longer able to continue. That is

“THAT IS WHEN I ‘SAW THE LIGHT’ AND REALIZED THE BEST CONTRIBUTION I COULD MAKE WOULD BE TO JOIN FORCES WITH THOSE I RESPECT SO HIGHLY AND DO MY BEST TO PROTECT OUR BREED AND THEIR LINE.”

142 • S how S ight M agazine , M ay 2017

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