WhatFinger


Best in Show winners

On with the show!...“What does it matter?”



Everything was going great for him. The bills were paid, the kennel was making money and all the dogs were healthy. After years of struggling to prove his dogs in the show ring, they were finally making their mark. Finally, people believed in his bloodline. Maybe, they even believed in him.

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It hadn't always been this way. When he first started out, just another young handler looking for his place in the world, it was tough finding anyone who thought he'd last. To make it as a professional in the dog world, you needed connections – and who was he? Back then, he was nothing -- a nobody! He didn't even have a breed to call his own. All that changed when he stood outside the show ring, watching trainers and handlers from around the country vie for Best in Show. It wasn't as if he had never seen this class before. In his weekend travels to dog shows, he had seen Best in Show winners many times, wondering if he, himself, might one day stand there, accepting an award and caressed by the polite applause of the crowd. That was the day he chose the breed that was right for him. It wasn't the most popular breed, but that didn't matter. What mattered is how he felt in their presence – the way his spirits lifted and his posture elevated; the way he felt as if the world was a great place to be … a place where anything was possible … as long as there were dogs this beautiful in it. There was safety in it for him, when he made his choice. His heart, once so restless and unsure of itself, seemed to beat stronger. With his decision made, and knowing there was no turning back, it was as if he had found a direction … a path …. If other people wouldn't trust him with their dogs, then he would raise dogs himself. If he was a nobody in the show ring, then he would become a somebody. He began by reading. Yes, there were many things to see on television, and there were many things to learn from the movies. In its way, the Internet was a library unlike anything since the Great Library of ancient Egypt. It was books, however, that opened a world of information and mystery to him. It was books – uncensored, thought-provoking books – that shattered the glass ceiling of his mind. His first litter was frightening. The responsibility of it shook him. Had he selected the right sire? Would his dog – not only an investment in his future, but a dearly loved pet now – be a good mother? What if she wasn't? What then? And what if the puppies weren't good enough for the show ring? Yes, he knew every dog has its place. Every dog is a good dog to love. He was searching for dogs that were right for the show ring. He was searching for dogs that were noble and brave and great. He needn't have worried about his first litter. He needn't have worried about the first one, or the next, or the next after that. As the years went by, like a Paris fashion designer presenting the treasures that bear his name, he stood with his dogs. Time and again in the show ring, the crowd's applause grew stronger. After a while, it didn't matter anymore if he ever won Best in Show over all the breeds. After a while, it only mattered that he was still there, smiling and looking on … shimmering, old and wise. "Why do you do it?" they asked him. "What does all this matter?" "What does it matter?" he asked them in return. "If you think all this is about ribbons and pretense and flattery, you have missed the point. It matters because this is a search for excellence and it encompasses every emotion, talent and hope known to mankind. In that search for excellence, we become stronger, more sure of ourselves, and we grow in ways they will never teach you in school. I can think of no other way in the path of personal development and awareness that brings us so close to Nature, and to our own potential. If that isn't important, then what is?" They were lofty words from a dog breeder. Perhaps, he wasn't a typical dog lover … or, perhaps he was. Certainly, his ideas went far beyond the local veterinarian's office or pet food store that defines the social life of many dog lovers. In the course of his lifetime, he met, talked and laughed with untold thousands of people – including dignitaries, celebrities and business leaders far beyond his hometown and his country. Everywhere he went, the man who loved dogs understood that our response to animals is universal. Like music, and art, and dance, the love of dogs is not restricted by artificial "glass ceilings" of politics, language, race or religion. Like a smile, it reaches the heart. Like a heart, it reaches the soul. The young handler didn't allow life to stop him. Raising his own dogs because nobody trusted him with theirs, he chose to become the best that he could be and dogs filled his life with laughter, sorrow and every emotion we can ever know. At the end of his life, with ribbons, scrapbooks, trophies and photographs marking the way, I wondered if anyone else could ever follow his path. As friends took care of his dogs and wrapped up the story of his life, I wondered if he realized the importance of that simple decision to raise his own dogs and follow his heart so many years before. What does it matter, they asked him along the way. Knowing the beautiful dogs he had sent to so many faraway places, and thinking about the people who loved them, I finally understood the answer to that question. Maybe he never really was a dog breeder. Maybe he was an uncrowned ambassador, instead, giving people a way to rise above their troubled lives and fly – giving people freedom to see beauty every day, and, in a grey life without heroes, showing a way to become greater than many of us think we can ever be. Maybe, just by following his heart and doing what he loved, this nobody who loved beautiful dogs and wanted the world to see them, managed to shake just the right hand, smile at just the right person, and say just the right thing at the right time to change world events for us. It was a lot to think about, as I looked back over the life of this very special friend. I knew, that, without people like him – and there are many among us – we never feel as deeply as we can or reach the dizzying heights that we sense are possible. I knew that we never laugh as hard or feel as silly. I knew that our eyes never twinkle with mischief in quite the same way … and we never try for great things that we hope for. These friends are teachers along the way. They are ambassadors without accolades. They are leaders without political agenda. You know them as well as I do. Treasure them, for it does not last. Love them, respect them, and, perhaps … if you're lucky … you will know what really matters. Author/Artist RON HEVENER specializes in animals and the romantic, adventurous people who love them. An accomplished artist who started by selling handmade souvenirs and telling stories to tourists at Pennsylvania Dutch farmers’ markets, Mr. Hevener’s studio is now an official tourist attraction and his collectible figurines and the prints from his novels are bought and traded throughout the world. His original paintings and sculptures are sold in galleries, displayed in museums and can be found in many private collections.


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Guest Column Ron Hevener -- Bio and Archives

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