Well after we left the Long Beach weekend to head for home, our cell phone rang in the Admiral's Club at LAX telling us of the unhappy news that Bob LaRouche had died. Bob was an acquaintance of many, many years who was as troubled as he was likeable. His knowledge of dogs was way above average, and his ability to communicate virtues of exhibits far superior to most anyone I knew. On a personal side, when he was up he was great fun to be with and a marvelous raconteur. That he was plagued by forces which ultimately destroyed him cannot be denied. Eventually his fragility overcame his ability to cope with life and so he took, for him, what he must have considered the best way out. I understand those remaining stalwarts at the Long Beach show were totally traumatized by this news, which filtered on down from Woodside. And certainly one would have expected this sort of reaction to have occurred. I can only tell you how saddened I was to hear about Bob, and how my heart continues to hang heavy as I write these few words about him. On January 2, his good friends Betty and Roy Stenmark had a small gathering to celebrate his life, and in late May his ashes are to be spread in or near Massena, New York, from whence his family hailed. Contributions to Take the Lead have been pouring in in his memory so that those of you still so inclined may continue to help others out in this manner as well. Poor Robert—he never will get to see Margaret, which is our loss, as his opinion about our Airedale bitch certainly would have been a valued one.
On a more upbeat note, we always enjoy attending the end-of-the-year Long Beach shows. This year there were three shows: Los Encinos, together with Shoreline and, of course, Long Beach itself. Next year I'm not too sure what the line-up of shows will be and, of course, in 2006, the AKC-Eukanuba Invitational will return to this great location. One of the reasons we like these shows so much, aside from seeing many friends, is the laid-back feeling one gets among the competitors. Usually the running around the so-called “top dogs” do are at the easier accessed—in terms of distance—Midwest and Eastern shows, so no one faces the tensions associated with those situations—they rarely exist in Long Beach. What with the show calendar ending earlier than usual due to Leap Year, some of the holiday spirit which normally prevails here was missing but not enough to alter things measurably. The Great Pyrenees was awarded best the first night, whilst the Montgomery-winning Lakeland won the Best in Show awards the next two nights! Not a bad way to end the year for either of these two fine exhibits, was it?
So far it looks as though nine people will be running for the four delegate seats in the March elections. David Merriam has happily reconsidered and will definitely be running to keep his Directors seat. That means all four sitting Board members will be on the ballot—one from the nominating committee, three from the floor. Of the four sitting Board members, there is one I personally think should not be re-elected. That person is Pat Scully, who in my opinion has betrayed her trust to those who have voted for her in the past. Certainly her missing last year's vote by staying at Crufts instead of returning home (as did every other Director), was unforgivable, whilst her vote against Board members getting additional breeds (with which I totally agreed) was negated by the fact that she is the first and only Board member to apply for additional breeds—even though they are in the Obedience side of the sport under the heading of Rally. You just can't vote one way and then do the exact opposite, even rationalizing the differences between conformation and obedience. And I must say that Judi Daniels was as actively campaigning for her seat as anyone I have seen campaigning for anything in my lifetime. Watching her in operation at the upcoming Invitational in Florida should be interesting at best.
 And on the subject of the Invitational, this event, which will be simulcast live on both Animal Planet and Discovery Channel January 15-16, drew its largest entries ever. With 2,451 conformation invitees accepting and over 750 Agility competitors—to say nothing of the 100-plus juniors—this event truly has caught on. In addition, the other activities associated with the show make this as all-encompassing a gathering as any ever held in the history of the sport. There is a fairly nice entry of foreign dogs as well, which should spice things up. I must say, I am bemused by those who don't like the idea of foreign judges being on the panel. I think this makes for an interesting mix, particularly since all recognized international kennel clubs recognized by AKC are invited to participate in this invitational as well. Why shouldn't there be a smattering of different opinion? At least then, as at other such invitationals, not every breed is basically written in stone, since the opinions have not been had in advance. This opens the door to the unexpected, which can be refreshing to say the least. •
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