I’m Entering Mango Minster 2012… by Dott

Can you BELIEVE it!?!  It is January again, and time for Mango Minster, the premier Dog Blog Dog Show, hosted by none other than our HUGE friend, Mango the Mastiff!  He and his mom put on the BEST Dog show each year, and put in TONS of work on making it fun for everyone.  Even if you don’t enter, there are great adventures, contests and games featured by Mango’s furiends, and he has a TON of them!!!

A couple of years ago, OC even got to be one of the judges, and Grammy provided one of the First Place Prizes… a portrait of the winner, which was Clive, a Golden Doodle Helper Dog to his autistic friend.

We JUST found out about this year’s Mango Minster last night when Grammy FINALLY felt well enough to get online and let us visit some of our old friends.  One of the classes is “Too Darn Cute!” and when my Dad found out about that, he said that I HAD to enter!  That’s what he’s called me from the time I was born… EVERY DAY… SEVERAL times a DAY!!!

Dad says I am cute when I’m sleeping with my toy squirrel,  

 And cute when I’m out doing “Squirrel Patrol” for REAL squirrels.

He says I’m cute from the front (I was sneezing). 

and cute from the back  (I was bowing).   

He says both sides of my profile are cute, too!   

He laughs and says I’m cute when I’m dirty  

 and cute when I’m clean…

He snickers and says I’m cute when I’m ANGRY  (wouldn’t YOU be!) 

 

And cute when I’m angelic…

He even said I was cute when I was FAT  (I was in the family way) 

and cute when I am thin!

He says I’m especially cute when I do my tricks… Here I am with my "Hands up..."

And here are a few more on this video.



  

Do YOU think I’m cute enough to win?  Are you “SQUEEEEEing” yet?

Finally got Clive’s Picture to Ireland & Hair/Fur Needed…

Grammy was so happy to hear from Clive, the Assistance Dog in Ireland. He is the one that won the Mango Minster 2010 Best in Show. She had finally finished the portrait that she had been working on for the Grand Prize. With all the stuff that’s happened around here… hospital visits and funeral, etc. it’s taken her quite a while, and that has really bothered her.

She was so worried that she was making Clive’s NSLM (Not So Little Man) unhappy. She had sent it a couple of weeks ago, but it had a LONG way to go from here in California all the way to Ireland, and she was so relieved to find out that it had finally made it safe and sound, and that Clive and Murray really liked it.

We just want to tell Clive congratulations, again, for winning Best in Show at the Mango Minster 2010 from the Country Corgis! Murray’s big smile made Grammy so happy that she cried! You can follow the link to their blog if you want to see that beautiful smile and the portrait.

Also, we wanted to tell you that when we visited Cathy Santarsiero, "The Christmas Corgi’s," Facebook page, she told about how they want hair… human, horse, sheep, dog, etc. to make oil absorbing booms for that huge oil spill.

It seems that hair soaks up this kind of oil and there are big wear house places that they want people to ship the hair/fur that us furry critters “wear” when it comes off. She thought, and Grammy agrees, that there are a few of us breeds out here in bloggy land that have a “bit” of extra hair springing off of us now that it’s turning into Spring, and we can put it to good use and maybe save some other animal’s lives.

If you might have a bit of “extra” hair to spare, and we are thinking Corgis and Sibes, especially… please follow this link to “Matter of Trust” to find out how and where to mail it to if you are interested… 

Mama OC Called... By Dott

Mama OC called me from Mango's place today. She used one of those fancy computer video cams and her bluetooth. She says that it has been TOTALLY cold... more like FREEZING... over there, so she is staying inside mostly on this nice, comfy bed. They have a really nice heating system there, too, instead of only an old wood stove to warm the house.


She said she is being taken care of very nicely and is really enjoying the visit with the other judges. She said that her and Martha and Bailey have been looking online for their formal wear for their judging days, and decided to turn on the live cam and call.



Papa's work has changed their minds again, and got a different truck for him to drive to Florida in. He has to haul one of their HUGE oil testing trailers from California to Florida so that it can take a ship across the ocean. With this different truck, there is a possibility that Grammy will be able to go with him, and they would take Pippin, BG & Gimli with them, since Mama OC isn't here to go too. This just came up this afternoon, and the decision has to be made by tomorrow as he is leaving tomorrow night or early Sunday morning. He will definitely be taking BG and Pippin anyway.


Grammy kind of wants to go because the road goes through Houston, where their daughter lives, and they will probably be able to see them for lunch or dinner, at least, and it ends a few hours drive from where their oldest son lives, so, since he will have a couple of days off around the time Papa has to be there with the truck, he will be able to drive over and visit too, for at least a few hours or maybe overnight. Papa has to have the trailer there one year from the day that Oldest Son's wife passed away last year, and they would both like to be there for him.


A lot of the decision will be if they can find a way to get Grammy all the way up to the cab in that BIG truck with her hip and back problem. They will figure that out when they see the truck tomorrow.


In other news, Grammy and Robert gave the pups their next set of booster shots today. Mercy whined a bit, Gimli kind of yelped and struggled, and Pippin screamed his little head off, and almost wiggled out of Robert's arms! Had me really upset for a while until I finally figured out what was going on.


Well, I'd best go for now. We seem to be having a bit of an uprising among the squirrels AND the coyotes lately. I'll tell you more about that later, though, as I've got to run for now!

Sadie... By BG

Dott has been so busy, that she said that I could do our blog today, and I thought I’d tell you about Sadie’s reaction to the Mango Minster 2010.
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At first, she told me that it sounded kind of interesting, but she KNEW that OC would never let her enter, and would probably put her busy doing something that would give her little time to even think about it, like cleaning out the woodstove and hauling out the cinders…

Then, she saw Mango fly in, and when she found out that he had invited OC to go to his estate and be a Judge for the Show, she started thinking that at least she would get a break from constantly being watched, and sort of get a vacation from all the work that OC keeps assigning her.

She tried not to show it to much, so as not to irritate OC, but she was getting a little excited when she was told that she would have to help take all of OC’s luggage and stuff to the airplane when it got here.

She could hardly wait for that plane to land, on the day they told us they were coming for Mama OC, and she found it really hard not to grin from ear to ear! Finally the Big Guy’s plane arrived, and she hauled the luggage down the driveway.

After Mama was gone, Sadie went cracker dog for a few minutes, and jumped around for joy! She wanted to play, but I wasn’t to sure that it would be appropriate for me to celebrate having Mama leave.

THEN, Sadie got the idea that MAYBE there would be a way for her to enter into Mango Minster 2010! Apparently, she'd been dreaming about it for a while.

She talked to me about it, and I told her that I didn’t know about that, because she is a Border Collie, and that makes her a herding dog, and since Mama OC is going to be judging THAT group, she wouldn’t stand a chance!

She asked about the other classes… what they were and who was judging them, so I told her. There is the Hounds Class with Martha and Bailey judging… The Cat Dog (Cats that think they are dogs) Class being judged by Khyra … and The Sporty Dogs (Good Sports or love sports) being judged by Moose. There are also The Non-Sporty Dogs (Bad sports, grouchy, etc.) and Sadie made a rather snide comment about who ought to enter THAT class… That class is being judged by Ike. The Cracker Dog Insane Terriers (CDIT) Class is being judged by Norwood, and last, but not least, the Hard Working Dogs Class, which is being judged by Tula. I also explained that the last Class was dependent on who won the other classes, and that Asta would be judging that one, which is called the “Best In Show.”

She thought about that for a little while and THEN came up with the idea to enter herself into the WORKING DOG Group! She has a point there, because she is one HARD WORKING dog around here! She used to work with the goats for Mom, and still works to put the horses where Mom wants them …

She baby sits the pups, and BELIEVE ME, when ALL three gang up on you, THAT is HARD WORK!!!

She does a LOT of the cleaning, and she helps bring in wood for the woodstove,

She is able to pick up a lot of the stuff that Mom needs picked up that is just too big and heavy for me to pick up, too.

She had a point, so I told her that I would help her get her entry together and sent in. I just HOPE that Mama OC will speak to me when she comes home, and that I won’t get into TO much trouble!

I’m SOOOO BUSY!!! by Dott

I have been SOOOO busy! Not only do I have to be a mother and keep these pups of mine in line, I’ve also been a part time teacher too.

At least my brother, BG, has helped a lot there when he hasn’t been working as a helper dog for Grammy.

Mama OC was training me to take over all the responsibilities of running Corgi Country and we were supposed to have until the 25th to get ready for her to leave. I guess with all the bad weather out there at Mango's Estate in Master Chew Sits, it was decided to fly out and get everyone early when they finally DID get a break in the weather. They didn’t give us a lot of warning on that, either!

We were going insane around here trying to get all of Mama OC’s things packed, her extra supply of meds for her back and hips, etc., and write down lists of the things she didn’t get a chance to tell me. We caught Pippin trying to figure out a way to stow-a-way in his Grandma OC’s luggage, and thwarted THAT little plan!

Robert let OC borrow our laptop to take, so that she can keep up on some of her friend’s blogs, but from the itinerary WE saw, she will probably be awfully busy, and that leaves ME to do THAT, TOO!

The pups are getting pretty rowdy with each other at times, and it is against the rules now, to chew on ears during their wrestling (after what they did to MY ears)! I have to keep a close eye on them, and I often have to jump in and break it up between them. Notice, I only get after Gimli when he goes for Mercy’s ears.

Mama OC did take her Bluetooth with her so that we can communicate with each other… if the weather doesn’t cause problems with THAT, and I wouldn’t doubt that happening at the rate things are going for me... I’m a nervous wreck!

P. S. I just got an email from Mama OC, and she said to let you know that she made it to Mango’s Estate in Master Chew Sets ok, and is getting settled in. You can see a picture of the arrival on Asta’s World.

There was a bit of a misunderstanding on Mango’s part, about what a Corgi Toss was. He thought we were going to “toss Corgis” to determine the winner of the Herding Class! You can see the pictures that were going through his head HERE. I had to explain again, that all the names of those with eligible Entries (A single pic showing some “herding action,” be it rounded up toys, bugs, birds, kids, or livestock) will be put on folded pieces of paper which will then be tossed out for me choose from. That will give EVERYONE an even chance of winning.

We only have 6 fur-friends entered into the herding class so far. They are: Dexter- a Labradork (as listed in his entry for breed—he is Mango’s “brother”), Bilbo- a Mixed Up Lhasa , Chrome- Friesian Sport Horse , Dozer- Pembroke Corgi and his "sister," Dottie- Cardigan Corgi , and Scampi- Border Collie / Papillion . All of these Comp Pet Itors will also be competing in their respective “Reader’s Choice Awards” on the day of their class, so check them out and come out and vote during that class.

Also, it has been announced that Grammy will be doing an 8 x 10 “Portrait of Choice” for the winner of the Best in Show of Mango Minster 2010, and she is also providing a $20 gift certificate as the First Place prize in the Herding Class, to spend at our Country Corgi CafePress Shop, which has a Mango Minster 2010 Department in it.

Half of the proceeds from the sales in the MM2010 Shop will be donated to NEADS , (Dogs For Deaf and Disabled Americans), of Princeton, MA. This is a non-profit organization. NEADS was established in1976 to train and provide rescued dogs and donated puppies to assist people who are deaf or physically disabled in leading more independent lives at work, at home and at school.

Here is an example of a Contest Entry. This was done by Chrome: (All Entries need to be in to Mango by Midnight ET 1/27/2010)

Your Name: Chrome

Gender: Male

Group you want to compete in: Herding Dogs - I like to round up cats!!

Your breed: Friesian Sport Horse

Your bloggy address: http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/

Your peemail address: (These won't be shared to the public)