OSAKA...
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riday morning dawned very early for both Nancy and I, which is normal for the first day when there is a drastic time change. Getting out of bed before 5 and not meeting Nancy until 9 for breakfast gave me a good four hours to just relax enjoying lots of my instant Starbucks, which is a lifesaver for a coffee drinker. I quickly learned from Facebook about the death of Donna Summers, Alan Buckner and then Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. Facebook certainly does give out instant news from all over the world. This also would be a good time to answer emails that required some length in answering and details to be explained. I have a bad habit of not turning my cell off when I go to bed and this means getting calls at all hours of the night from people not knowing I am on a twelve-hour time difference. This morning was no exception and between 5 and 6, three different friends called just to chat. At $1.99 a minute even I try to keep the conversations limited. I am trying to get Big Ed to talk fast and only deliver good news. Being up really early Nancy and I met for breakfast earlier than planned. The breakfast buffet at the Swissotel went on and on. Every type of Western and Asian delights were offered. Being up for hours I worked up a large appetite for a huge breakfast. Sitting by the windows gave Nancy and me a chance to view the whole city of Osaka by daylight. There was so much beautiful design with so many of the towering hotels and other skyscrapers. After talking at the recent Poodle Club of America for hours we still had some time to kill before meeting Yukari at noon. There was a fabulous multi level mall attached to the hotel. Over breakfast we could view a beautiful multi level park that surrounds the mall. The inner stores were top drawer, but it was walking around the park that was so beautiful. Nancy could inform me of so much that was in bloom. I have come to realize that malls in most foreign lands are so much more beautiful than anything we have in the States. Promptness in Asia is always a given and Yukari was in the beautiful lobby before the appointed time to greet us. Having enjoyed a huge breakfast we asked Yukari if we could have a late, small lunch. Yukari drove us about 45 minutes to the outer part of the city. This gave us a chance to see much of Osaka. Our destination was the Old City. This now has become a large tourist attraction. It is an absolutely beautiful park with literally thousands of deer walking all over the streets and snuggling up to tourists in hope of being fed. Many street vendors sell food that can be fed to the deer. Walking through the park and thousands of deer and school children, we arrived at the fabulous temple surrounded by manicured lawns and flowering plants. After touring the temple a light lunch was in order, but like all of Asia nothing comes in small portions. I opted for noodles and soup and Nancy had the most beautiful parfait of the most vibrant colors of fruit and ice creams. Around 5 o’clock we were back in the lobby so the stewards could explain the judging system, which would be all new to Nancy. Not sure just how much she comprehended but I assured her that her stewards would manage
92 Dog News
the classes and she would only have to judge the dogs. The one big difference is that the sexes are kept totally separate. There is a Best King and Best Queen from the baby level right thru the regular BIS. Not until Best King and Best Queen at the end of the show do the King and Queen meet for the final winner of the entire show. Being an FCI show there are ten groups. You have within each group baby King, baby Queen, puppy King, puppy Queen and the adult King and adult Queen. This amounts to six groups for each of the ten groups or a total of 60 groups to be judged at the end of the day, plus the six different BIS. So at the end of the day many, many people go away thrilled that they won a major award. During the meeting Friday afternoon we learned that at the end of Saturday show Nancy would judge the Poodle specialty, which had an entry of 140. They said she could surely start to judge before 5 PM, but would need to be finished by 7:30 PM as it would be dark. At 6:30 Yukari escorted me and Nancy to another hotel where a formal dinner was arranged for the officers and other Japanese judges. It was a very relaxing dinner consisting of many, many courses that were presented so beautifully. My only concern was being able to politely sample every course presented before me. Nancy was not quite as relaxed as I was. She had just learned she might just have 2 ½ hours to judge 140 Poodles. We all assured her that with good stewards and her expertise she could judge very quickly. I have to admit that I was bluffing it a bit when I assured her it would not be a problem. After a full day of touring, a fabulous meal surrounded by great company, it was a welcome relief to be able to retire early knowing Saturday would be a very long day. Saturday morning dawned early and over another wonderful breakfast Nancy and I tried to imagine what the day would be like. I had the privilege of doing all the Bests on Saturday, which would entail several hours. That is probably why my assignment only consisted of just over 50 dogs. One of the Japanese judges had quite a large assignment. Happy to say they judged very quickly and I was able to start judging the Best at the appointed hour. The Poodle Specialty was scheduled to start at 4 PM and I was determined to have all the Bests finished by then. Judging rather quickly I had all the Bests finished around 3 PM which pleased everyone. Even though Poodles were not scheduled until 4 all the exhibitors agreed that Nancy should start judging at 3:30 and this would be a lifesaver for everyone at the show. In all of my baby and puppy Bests French Bulldogs dominated so many of the wins. I had so many nice Frenchies at the breed level and had some difficult decisions to make because of the quality being so high. It is always interesting that in judging here in the States the level of quality cannot always be predicted. While in Japan about the same time a year ago the Frenchies were quite poor. And vice versa a year ago I did a Golden Specialty and there was wonderful depth of quality and at this show they were quite lacking. When it came time for Best King in show the nod went to a wonderful Golden. This dog could do well anywhere in the world today. This kennel showed several wonderful Goldens to me last year in Japan. I have also admired some of the dogs they have shown in the states. In the final lineup for Best Queen, several really Continued on page 96