Breed Notes for March 2005

04 March 2005

The funeral of Joy Standen took place on 31 January at the West Chapel, Cambridge City Crematorium and Doug Colyer has sent through the following " We sadly said farewell today to Joy Standen, a good friend to us all, a keen supporter of the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club and a lover of Papillons and a former Assistant Secretary of the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club. On entering the Chapel the first impression was of a large number of prayer cushions all beautifully embroidered with brightly coloured butterflies. The strains of Blue Moon played softly in the Chapel. Joy  had  sadness early in life when her brother was killed whilst in the RAF, but she managed to live life to the full . She and her late husband Lionel loved ballroom dancing, bingo and their caravan holidays particularly in Scotland .. Sadly Lionel died at the early age of 50, but with her two sons Brian and Allan, Joy was soon busying herself as a Hospital Car Services driver for 10 years, Parish Councillor in Little Paxton, bingo and of course her beloved papillons.  She remained a driving force in the family, now including Valerie and Eileen and granddaughter. Many of us will remember her at Crufts last year in her `electric buggy` in which she accomplished a memorable 3 point turn.

The service for Joy included the much loved hymns, The Lord is my Shepherd and Abide With Me, and after the Blessing we left to the music of Nat King Cole singing Unforgettable. That sums up our Papillon Club friend; unforgettable.  The Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club was represented by her very close friend Sylvia Alcock and her husband. Shirley and I also attended both out of respect to a lady who had shown us such great kindness over the years and on behalf of the Club."

Helen Wheeler, Acting Secretary for The South Wales Papillon Club writes to tell me that as most people are aware the Club has been allowed to hold a Limited Show to replace the Open Show this year and it has now been decided that this Limited Show will take place on the 3 April, which is the day set for the AGM. The venue is a new one, it is at Caerwent Community Centre 20 mins from the old bridge and near to the Crick venue and schedules are available either from Helen (e-mail helen@wheelsie.freeserve.co.uk ) or can be downloaded from the Club's web site at http://www.southwalespapclub.co.uk

I reported a few months ago that Jo Davidson Poston had faced the awful agony of having one of her older papillons, Sparky, stolen from her mother's garden and I am very sorry to say that there has still been no news of him. Jo writes that Sparky is mentioned in the  Feb 17th Edition of Pick me up, where they are covering the topic of "Missing" dogs and  where it is reported that 'suddenly people are becoming more aware of the possibilities that dog theft is actually happening more often than people realise.  Keep your dogs safe and your eyes open'. Jo gives a description of a van belonging to travellers based near Castleford, Yorks, which has been used in a large number of dog thefts. It is operating from a site which appears to be a no-go area. The thieves are quite brazen and have snatched dogs from people who were out walking them.  This transit is hand painted blue, with black round the bottom. It has windows in the back but they are also painted over. This is quite obvious and cannot be mistaken for those with window shapes that are not really windows. It also has custom built cages in the back, and looks like a kennels van. The thieves have been mostly taking staffies recently (according to the RSPCA for breeding and selling rather than fighting) but of course all dogs are vulnerable. We all need to be extremely careful as it does seem this is happening more and more in all areas, just because one might live in a niece area does not mean it cannot happen to any of us.

At Westminster BOB went to Am Ch Cadaga's Civil Action with BOS going to Am Ch InVolo If They Could See Me Now. Awards of Merit went to Am Ch Queen Bless JP Royal Silk (about whom I wrote recently), Am Ch Wingssong And The Crowd Roared and Am Ch Caprice N Flashpt Ghost Buster

The Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club held its Open Show on Sunday 20 February and I hope everyone managed to get there and back without problems with the weather. Certainly here we experienced some snowfall, we woke up to a good layer of snow, yes it looks pretty but it is a nuisance, and being out in the country the local lanes were pretty slippery. Even later in the morning when we travelled a short distance to our nearest town the roads were pretty slippery, one or two cars skidding. Remembering only too well the year of the great snow fall at the time of LKA and having been trapped there I must admit I was rather glad I was in any case unable to attend. BIS went to Queenie Bruce and Amanda Brice Jackson's Tijuana Georgiou who is getting herself quite a collection of BIS awards at Club Shows. This one she adds to her BIS at  both the Papillon Club of Scotland and Northern and Eastern Papillon Club's Open Shows. BP and RBIS went to Carolyn and David Roe's Sunshoo Imacrystal Mist, Best Dog and BOS went to Pat Munn's Red Request Ur Ringlands.BV was Sue Morrell and Thesbina Teague's Ch. Serenglade Sebastian at Temelora

11 March 2005

Young Neil Lieper showed Rimzim Orlando Graycaz Sh CM which he owns in partnership with Caroline Lee-Farnsworth at the Scottish Papillon club Open Show and handled him to BIS under Mr Brian Cochrane.  A very special win for this young handler.  RBIS went to the Anderson's Pineland Starlight Dream at Northlyte and BPIS was the Lieper's Calajoy Dougal McShuggle.

Guildford Show are scheduling Papillon classes again at their summer show on 1st June after many years without them, the judge is Rita Morgan.  This has caused a flood of reminiscences on the Internet as so many of the older members have such happy memories of showing there in the '70s.  Most of the comments compare the shows of that time to todays quite unfavourably and I must admit we seemed to enjoy it all so much more then  What do you think?

Philip Shirley writes : "The South of England Papillon Club announce the launch of the their Web Site which can be found at www.southpapclub.co.uk .Carol Wilson has done a grand job getting this up and running for us , please stop by and take a look, all members are invited to send their links to the webmaster at webmaster@southpapclub.co.uk also let us have your comments and contributions." I have been to the website and Carol Wilson has indeed created a most attractive and informative site with very easy access.

I have also received the following from Carolyne Allward-Chebsey: "It gives me great pleasure to inform you all that the new President of The Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club is Mrs. R. Wood-Davis, who was elected unanimously at the Committee's last meeting, in recognition of her dedication, time and effort  put into the Club over a good number of years. The committee are delighted that Mrs Wood-Davis accepted the position."

18 March 2005

At the  Newtownards Show in Belfast Dog Green Star and BOB went to Dolly Kavanagh's Ch/Dan/Swe//Ch Serenglade Gold Sovereign, Bitch GS to Diane Mooney's Ch Omaonaig Flame of Tara , RGSD to Dolicissimo Mr Destinique and RGSB to Blue Moon of Kilcormack Soiam at Dolicissimo

Young Neil Leiper had a good day at the Papillon Club of Scotland Open Show taking BIS with Rimzim Orlando Graycaz ShCM (jointly owned with Caroline Lee Farnsworth) with BPIS going to Calajoy Dougal McShuggle owned by Neil's parents Brian and Alison. 

I understand that at its show in June this year Guildford DCS will be scheduling papillons again a few years. I remember this show from many years ago, the mid 1970's scheduling the breed and it was always a well attended show, there were quite a few breeders and exhibitors in the area in those days.  

I hear from Phil Shirley that the South of England Papillon Club now has its own web site which can be found at http://www.southpapclub.co.uk  . Carol Wilson ahs done a wonderful job on the site, very easy to navigate and full of interesting information about the Club's previous and forthcoming activities. Do have a look. 

I was sorry to hear from Ally Boughton that she had lost Ch Inixia Stylish Stan. He gained his title in 1995 and notched up some 8 CC's, 7 with BOB and took BIS twice at Breed Club Shows, He was Ally's first papillon although of course Ally had had much success in Corgis previously and I am sure Ally knows how fortunate she was to be able to get such a lovely dog for her first in the breed. Stan of course was bred by Sue Stanbury and Ally tells me that Stan never forgot Sue, always at shows he would not settle until he had seen Sue as he knew she would be there. He was 13 years old and had been poorly with heart problem for a little while and of course Ally is very upset at the moment over his loss. I am sure many of us will remember him in the ring, he certainly lived up to his name of stylish. 

Ted Whitehill ahs asked me to mention that the Breed Council now has its own web site and this can be accessed by going to http:// www.papbreedcouncil.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk  . Whilst on the subject of web sites, please note that I am no longer responsible for the web site for the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club, all queries relating to the should go the Club Secretary

Melanie Mann had a good day at the Merseyside Toydog Show taking BOB with Melangel Dolly Dreamgirl, whose daughter Melangel Georgie Girl also took a 1st in the Post Graduate Class. BP and Puppy Group 3 went to Pauline Wilson's Invergarick Modern Milly.

Deirdre and I would be grateful to anyone who can let us have photos of liver papillons or papillons with unhelpful markings. When we say unhelpful we mean markings which because of their placement, symmetry or even being heavily marked affect the visual appearance. For example I have had a dog whose noseband was not perfect, the one side being self coloured and the other white and the self coloured side 'appeared' longer, obviously it was not. Also of course markings can affect the visual appearance of a dog, some that are heavily marked may 'look' shorter in body. The reason we want these is that in our new publication we hope by the use of illustrations based on the same templates to show exactly how markings can affect one's assessment and it would be helpful also to use photos of real dogs. 

Irene and Glenn Robb had an exciting day at the Northern and Eastern Counties Papillon Club Limited show taking BPIS and BIS with their 8 months old Gleniren Starlight Kisses . This was only her third show, at her previous two outings she took BPIS at Stockport Toy Dog and RBIP at the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club Open Show.

The Secretary of the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club writes "It gives me great pleasure to inform you all that the new President of The Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club is Mrs. R. Wood-Davis, who was elected unanimously at the Committee's last meeting, in recognition of her dedication, time and effort  put into the Club over a good number of years. The committee are delighted that Mrs Wood-Davis accepted the position."

At the N&E Papillon Club Ltd Show BIS and BPIS was Glenn & Irene Robb's eight months old puppy Gleniren Starlight Kisses.  This little lady has certainly had a sparkling start to her Show career with Stockport BPIS, Papillon Open RBPB, and Now BIS. She is certainly one to watch! BD & RBIS was Bailey-Turner&Barlow's Beaushar URA Little Star at Shazzabar, RBD was Thornton 's Penang Tycoon at Shevid and RBB Kirk's Kirkchase Bewished     

Deidre Ashdown and Mike Foster are at the moment Preparing for publication a most interesting book entitled 'The Complete Illustrated Standards of the Papillon and Phalene'. It will hopefully be available in June and will cost pre Publication £15 Plus postage and after publication it will be £25 plus postage  It will be full colour and A4 bound not a spiral binding.  It will be boxed and have 2 Bookmarks.  The art work is exquisite - I have been privileged to see some of it - and there are, for example 240 illustrations of head properties alone!  Mike would be pleased for some help in obtaining photos of e.g Liver  or unusually marked dogs and if you contact him he will let you have a list of what they are looking for.  Anonimity will be preserved if requested.  I will let you know any further details as I learn them  Meanwhile I think that if it only informs about the other standards FCI , USA and Australian it will be a worth while endeavour.

25 March 2005

Well that's Crufts over and done with for another year and love it or hate it there is no escaping the excitement which builds up. For many it is the ultimate show, the razz a matazz and excitement of the various activities, the crowds, the stalls and the publicity all it seems adds to the almost fever like interest and despite claims from other shows overseas it probably is the ultimate dog show. Now with the opportunity for overseas dogs to come and exhibit there certainly is far more interest from overseas breeders and exhibitors and one must marvel at their energy and enthusiasm making such long and arduous journeys.

As well as a number of overseas dogs participating we also had I understand a good number of overseas folk attending, and on the internet much interest from overseas folk as to the results, indeed there seemed on some lists to be a competition as to who could post the results the quickest!! Perhaps for some it helped them seem as if they were part of it. Having spoken to a number of folk who attended from overseas I know many were astounded by the sheer size, the number of dogs and the many, many trade stands, for some it must have been like being a child at Christmas in a toy store. Whilst perhaps some of the trade stands seem to have little to do with dogs I know many exhibitors enjoy the opportunity at shows to look around the stands and stock up on those essentials.  Those of us unable to attend were able to enjoy the television programmes and I thought this year they were a far better format than we have sometimes seen in the past. At least we saw a good deal of the dogs as well as a quick glimpse of all the Best of Breeds, so if your breed did not make the cut in the Group you still got a mention. I still find it hard to understand quite why the BBC cannot find presenters that actually know anything about the dogs. Of course Frank Kane and his colleague do and were interesting to listen to, but as good a presenter as the female presenter was, her expertise obviously is in horses. She readily admitted she had never been to a show before and whilst her input and presentation was fine I did find it annoying to hear her telling us what lovely movers particular breeds were. As an expert in horses she obviously understands construction but not all breeds require the same type of movement as we know so maybe her view as to what did or did not constitute a good moving specimen was somewhat flawed. The other presenter to me at times looked either bemused or bored and had little of value to contribute. A small complaint perhaps but personally I would prefer to hear commentaries which comment on breed type or movement made by someone who actually knows what breed type and movement should be. Nice this time to have the experts views and find that even they 'got it wrong' often it has seemed in the past as if the views were given after the results were known, so this made it a little more interesting.

As I am sure everyone knows by now this year proved a great success for Carine Rutten from Holland and her well known Int Ch Antony, a UK champion as well of course. Taking the CC and BOB must have been a wonderful feeling for her especially as in the past Antony has perhaps not always got his just rewards, and it was I thought wonderful to see him take Group 2 to a very well known and very successful Chihuahua . Having seen Antony in the flesh, indeed having stood second to him in the ring, I think he is a lovely papillon, I would go as far as to say one of those special ones. He has great breed type, a type which has at times been missing from the top spot in our breed, he has superb elegance, a beautiful coat of the correct texture and moves with great style and presence. For me he just says 'papillon' and a very good one at that. Reserve Dog CC also went to an overseas bred dog. Jap, It and Fin Ch Queen Bless JP Top Gun, bred by Chie Ejima in Japan and jointly owned by Chie, Vesa Toivanen from Finland, Jan Coosens from Belgium and our own Jean and Roger Banfield, he truly has an international ownership. He is however I believe sired by Jean Leverett's Glasafon Connor. In bitches however UK bred papillons took the top awards, the Bitch CC went to Sue Morrell and Thesbina Teague's Ch Serenglade Enchanted Lady for Temelora, bred of course by Linda Greenslade and the Reserve went to Ch Burgbridge Our Princess owned by Mr and Mrs K Flanagan and bred by Liz and Alan Bartram. Best Puppy was I am told Sue Stanbury's Inixia Wily Willum

So all over now and the mad rush to qualify for next year's Crufts is already under way.

Eileen Roberts has asked me to mention that she has resigned her position as Rescue and Welfare co-ordinator for the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club. I have not received any information as to whether a replacement has been appointed so I presume for the time being all enquiries etc should now go to the Club Secretary. I am sorry to see Eileen resign, I know only too well of all the hard work she has put into the Rescue Scheme. Having seen how hard she has worked at the Club Shows on the stall which she has promoted with great gusto and having heard her reports in committee it will be difficult to find someone to take on this position with the same enthusiasm and experience. I am sure of one thing Eileen will find herself with a lot more free time to concentrate on her own family and dogs.

There appears to be some confusion over the Book which Deirdre and I are publishing, the Complete Illustrated Standard of the Papillon and Phalene. This book will comment on and compare the various standards of the breed in use around the world, not just the UK Standard . Perhaps some people do not realise that there are some interesting differences in the various standards and with more and more overseas dogs competing here and UK dogs competing overseas an understanding of the other breed standards, as well as our own, is something we can surely all benefit from. Whilst Deirdre and I are undertaking the book we have been able to draw upon the experience of a number of well known, successful and experienced breeders, exhibitors and judges not just from the UK but from overseas as well.  Full details can be viewed on our web site at http://www.papillons60freeserve.co.uk/standard.htm or by contacting Deirdre or myself and of course the Christmas Issue of the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club Newsletter carried full details. In case it is not clear enough (although it seems so to me) this is of course a private undertaking as is usually the case with a breed book.

So Crufts is over for another year and Ch Antony owned by a very happy Miss Rutten from Holland was Judge Caroline Roe's choice for DCC and BOB,  He looked magnificent on the TV and was placed as Group 2  What a great win for them. RDCC was Queen Bless JP Top Gun Owned By the Banfields and Chie Ejima.  BCC was Sue Morrells and Thesbina Teague's Ch Serenglade Enchanted Lady for Temelora who has had a most successful year, RBCC went to the Flanagan's Burghbridge Our Princess and Best Puppy was Sue Stanbury's Inixia Crown Jewel.

I can't believe I am saying this but after years of getting it wrong the BBC eventually have got the Crufts coverage right!!!  Presenter Clare Balding had just the right amount of accurate information to impart and our own Frank Kane was wonderful.  All BOBs were seen, even if only momentarily, and their names were given.  Emphasis was on the Dog Show and not the Commercial aspects of Crufts All those pulled out in the Group Final line ups were seen moving and the Obedience,  Agility and Flyball was given just enough time, There were no fluttery presenters and all in all it was a brave effort.  I missed being there but having watched it on TV did not feel annoyed and unsatisfied as in other years.  Well Done BBC but it would be nice to have an even longer programme!

I have a note from Mike Foster to the effect that in view of the Committee's attitude he can no longer support them and has withdrawn his services as Webmaster for the Club Website   Any queries should be sent to Secretary Carolyne Allward-Chebsey

Rosemary Hobson 's Roseanjon Gucci By Design has added another award to her list by going B Puppy and Puppy Group 4 at Barrow Show It was quite a family affair as his Mother, Father and sister were all in the placings!!