big wins in arcadia, florida dog show!

Eliza, Mr. Drysdale, Beatrix, and Tiggy took a long drive with Amy down to Arcadia, Florida and returned home with a ton of wins and ribbons.

On the way down we stopped in Tampa to drop off Jagger to his new companion home.  He is our boy we brought back from Spain as a show prospect but, alas, he turned out to be an amazing companion pug instead so he is living the life now with his new family and getting so much love and attention. Here are some shots of Jagger, (they are calling him Mr. Jones now, too), bred by Mireia Cabre of Diabolbric Pugs, Spain:

We tent camped at a nearby State Park (HIGHLY recommend Lake Manatee State Park) and it was just magnificent listening to the sounds of different birds and seeing so much wildlife all around. (Yes! lots of "beware alligators" signs .... I'm pretty sure we heard one, but we never saw one). It was an adventure for everyone and the campfires were a hit, too.

There were TWO shows each day, Saturday and Sunday. It was EXHAUSTING but worth every second. Mr. Drysdale won Winners Dog all 4 shows, Eliza won Winners Bitch all 4 shows, and they each took turns sharing the Best of Winners award. Eliza also won Best of Opposite Sex. Then, of course, we had Tiggy and Beatrix's first BPUP (4-6 Month Puppy Class). Not only did they each win Best of Breed, but Beatrix won 1st place in the Toy Group and Tiggy won 2nd place. It was a hoot, but as I told the judge, "you have to start somewhere!" lolz. Yep, Beatrix's judge was so amazing and just worked the photo shoot with a spontaneous sit when the totally green, 4 month old puppy wouldn't hold a stack. Best win photo ever if you ask me!

And yet another fabulous surprise on the trip was when Beatrix and Tiggy's brother Jeremy (new name Louie) and his parents drove over from Sarasota to the show to visit! It was so much fun and I honestly believe they remembered each other. We got some great photos as well (thank you Erin!) . . . .

2 Shows per day was definitely exhausting, though ... especially for the 4 month olds.

The dogs enjoyed grilled tripe for dinner and treats! And Amy enjoyed campfire breakfasts.

We are going to miss Tiggy and Beatrix so much. As soon as we got back from Florida, we washed Tiggy and drove to meet her new owner who is a retired veterinarian who used to breed and show pugs. She will hopefully be headed toward the obedience ring for some fun things to do and she is joining another beautiful big pug brother.

Beatrix will be headed to live with an amazing mom who she met in Florida and also joining a big bro pug named Tug. They have found such amazing homes but we really wanted to keep them. Sadly, we are told over and over "you can't keep them all". Sigh.