I never thought that a small “black blob” would change the life of my family and  myself.This small “black blob” is Milenka's Hector in Act Four. The big question “to be or not to be” - should our family be extended had to be answered at the time when we already knew that we are going to the United Kingdom for a long period of time. This news came to us along with a phone call from Karsten Kaemling confirming that Milenka Ginoch's Kvitko was pregnant. We had waited for this phone call a very long 15 months… the long awaited chance to have a Cesky Terrier puppy outweighed the complicated and far from cheap paperwork associated with moving a puppy from the North American continent to the British Isles. By the time we had settled it was time to go public and turn our talking lap companion into a show dog.
We contacted UK Cesky Terrier Club secretary Sue Fewings. She kindly invited us to participate in the Discover Dogs show held at Earls Court in central London. Hector was representing the Cesky Terrier breed together with other UK Ceskys. It was an honour. Discover Dogs show is designed to introduce different breeds to the people and create an opportunity to communicate with real breeders and dog enthusiasts. The next show we attended happened to be the biggest dog show in the world - Crufts. Crufts means thousands of entries and an unbelievable 45 Cesky contestants! We met many UK and other European Cesky breeders. I would like to mention meeting with Sheila Atter. She is a truly huge Cesky evangelist. She is doing invaluable job promoting the Cesky breed all over the world. At the same time we met with Jitka Paulinova, daughter of Mr. F. Horak. This meeting has a special meaning for us, because Hector's mother, Milenka was bred by Jitka herself. Jitka looked at Hector and was pleased with his development. Hector's paperwork was finally completed and we were ready to go full steam ahead showing him. It is worth mentioning that before stepping into a ring we had taken a few classes. Apparently classes mostly were needed for me rather than Hector. He naturally enjoyed the show atmosphere and demonstrated himself with ease compared with me getting butterflies in my stomach every time… At the National Dog show held in Birmingham, Hector got Reserve Best Dog, judged by Mr. Browne-Cole. Mr. Browne-Cole personally referred to Hector after the show as “a fabulous dog“. I consider this remark as a very valuable asset, because Mr. Browne-Cole is a “real terrier person”, he is the breeder of the wire fox terrier CH Travella Show Stopper, Reserve Best in Show this year at Crufts. I would like to note Windsor show because of its atmosphere and breathtaking setting. I really enjoyed it. The show is taking place in the beautiful grounds of Royal Windsor Castle. It takes special place in the heart of every British breeder. The soul of this show is very different from Crufts. Crufts, as any other big world event, is very commercialised and crowded. Our last show in England was very important.  UK Open Cesky Club show happened two days before we jumped on a plane and flew back to Canada. Hector got Reserve Best Dog. He came first in the Open Dog class competing with highly regarded Ceskys. His name is engraved on the UK Cesky Club Open Dog Shield. There were 45 Cesky entries at the show and we have met a new Cesky friend, Michael Weser, a breeder from Germany who was doing the Cesky grooming presentation at the Cesky Days in the Czech Republic this year. Michael gave me a brief workshop and a few tips on Hector's hair cut. Many breeders were showing interest in Hector, considering him as a stud dog. Unfortunately the timing was not perfect because we were about to leave the UK. Luckily we managed one breeding with Sheila Atter's Kralovna Kvitko. Two beautiful puppies were born in September. Both of them are going to stay in the UK - the bitch with Sheila Atter (Ridley house), the dog with Sally Brown (Lastarean house) whilst Nadherna Nina Ridley is coming to Canada to live with us next year. Nina is Kralovna's daughter and has started her show career very successfully. She won well as a puppy, and on her first outing in the adult classes was Best In Show at the Cesky Terrier Club Show, April 15th 2007. She then won the CAC from the Intermediate Class at the Czech Club show, Hrdonov, May 6th 2007. She also passed the bonitace (breeding examination). Hopefully later on we will see Nina's and Hector's puppies. Overall this was a very good experience for us. We met interesting and very helpful people, and we made a lot of friends. Hopefully I will see them in the Czech Republic at 'Cesky Days' next spring. We learned a lot about Ceskys and became true enthusiasts of the breed. I am planning to promote the Cesky breed more actively in Canada, especially on the West coast.

Hector's Critique, CTC, August 5th 2007: OD (8 entries): 1) Kapustin's Milenka's Hector in Act Four. Best of heads, correct topline, good size, moved well when he got going. Handler needs to bring out his star qualities. RBD. (Judge: Sue Fewings)

By: Liana Kapustina

 
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