Best In Show Juniors with our Standard Poodle & a TV Show!

  My Family is so Excited! My daughter and I could be on a Reality Show about DOGS with her Standard Poodle! OMG!! 

As most of my friends know we are pretty new to the dog show world, very new I'd say. I still don't have any followers on my blog! Yay, so I feel a like it's a little rough to show enthusiasm on here.

 (because who's going to read this? then... if you read it how will I know? will you comment?

Just comment now so that I know I did reach someone. So I know that at least one person can be like "whoa, how exciting")

OK, so back in December ( I think  December) There was a casting call for this show that tentatively is going to be called Best in Show Juniors. So, I sent my little inquiry for my oldest daughter Lily Anne because she just recently got her own juniors dog. I knew thousands probably applied, and there are so many other kids out there that show more, have more experience etc etc... but I thought. Why not, it can't hurt to brag about my little girl to someone I don't know. These are the sweet pictures I sent over.

     I mean, come on.. most parents would jump through a river or worse to brag a bit out their kids, and in my situation I got to brag about both my beautiful daughter and her new Standard Poodle Mercedes. 

    (complements to Heather Bryan my friend for our gorgeous poodle at Prodigy Poodles) 

I didn't really think I'd ever hear from them. I saw the casting call all over Facebook and I mean ALL OVER. It had over 50k likes or shares comments etc. So, yea I knew I'd send the pictures off and never hear back. 

WRONG! 

I was Dead wrong! I got an email a little while later.. maybe even a few months from the Casting Agent named Joe G. (I'm not sure if I should put his whole name... I'm new? do I do it? ) We emailed a bit back and forth for maybe a month. He asked for pictures of her, wanted to know more about her etc. 

So, of course I was like " She the most AMAZING, Loving, Carefree, concerned about you, girl next door type of innocent child that I love dearly and everyone else should too!" 

 (for those of you following along,, and made it this far, do you love my grammar yet? Am I driving you crazy) 

So, we got an interview with the Casting Agent! That was so so exciting.  We went shopping and got a few new dresses for her so she could look her best for the skype interview. I got to be in it also, which was fun, but also blowing my mind all at once. I'm not as small as I use to be and after 4 kids I definitely still struggle with self image. (don't we all? if not you're lucky & maybe in denial.. just kidding but seriously?) 

We did the interview and just as I thought, Lily was cute and shy. (Head slap here) I so wished she could show her fun laugh side but, she just didn't know him and was pretty poised and reserved. I however couldn't shut up. What is wrong with me? I think I'm a nervous talker. I smiled so much my face hurt and he probably thought I was a total lunatic

                                                   Pics below are from the Casting interview

     

So, that interview was in March and I just kept telling Lily. It was fun just to even be considered by the Casting Agent. We left it at that and just kept moving forward as normal. The casting director told me that he'd make a little video from our interview and send it to the producers. I mean, he told me that but, after my shy little child I figured. Maybe he had changed his mind? 

I emailed him about 2 weeks later and thanked him for his time with us trying to give a soft inquiry, but I don't think he got back to me. I don't blame him... super busy those types of careers. So, I left it at that thinking what a fantastic fun thing to have been able to do. 

4 months Later...

I get an email from a PRODUCER. Did you see that word in the previous sentence? Producer, yea.. Lily had just left for 5th grade Camp and I got an email saying she was interested in Lily for the show!  Holy cow, I am pretty sure I screamed out loud when I saw her official title on my email. 

I mean, this is something I never thought would move forward. So much though, that when Mercedes started going through coat change I completely SHAVED her down! So, Here we are in August, Mary (producer, dog lover & owner, comedian and part Fairy God Mother, because she makes dreams come true) 

Calls me on the phone. WHAT THE HECK. I'm pretty sure I talked her ear off... again! (Mary, if you're reading this and I hope you are. Then I'm so sorry and not sorry for our entire lengthy conversation about dogs, dog shows and bitches). Yep... for my non dog show followers, Bitch is just a normal everyday word and dog people are darn proud of their bitches... and their dogs. It does kind of blow your mind a bit to be ring side and having someone say. "Now there's a nice bitch"  I'm getting use to it. 

So Great Mary calls me and  it's this fantastic idea she has for this show and it's brilliant for the dog sport. I mean, BRILLIANT. Dog shows aren't getting any popular and being a newbie in town is a bit rough with all the people that grew up in that world.  The show is a reality show about Junior Handlers, their experience their wins, their learning, their dog life and we have made it to yet another round! 

How could you not love this? Dog showing Juniors is an AMAZING opportunity for our youth for this generation. The dedication, time, the love of animals, the sportsmanship, knowledge, the list goes on. Not to mention, AKC dog shows could use a boost in moral and new blood. Some people in the sport are mean and not worth a mention. Then some are FANTASTIC Daniel Chavez, William Mcfadden, & Ann Rairigh, are big names to me and in the poodle world. They were very nice and it really blew my mind that some of them took time at a show to talk to me and show me what I could be doing better.  Of course I could not even have these opportunities if it weren't for my breeders close friends & mentors Heather Bryan, Kailien Vernon , Bruce Swift & Sharlene Craig. These type of people they care about the future of dog showing. (I'm getting off track)

                                              pic above: London showing Maserati in Pee Wee Class

So KIDS showing their dogs on TV. I think it'd be great. I hope that it'd prompt more parents to guide their kids this way or even themselves! 

Alright, so we spoke with Mary, super fantastic we're pretty excited but also, trying not to burst because we've not yet been chosen. Then we had another interview with Mary via Skype so that she could meet my Lily. 

Oh heavens, Lily wants this so badly and do you know how many times I had to tell her to just pretend that Mary was her Grandma so that she would actually use a complete sentence?! We took some crazy face selfie's to psych ourselves up just before we met her.

       Well, Lily definitely started off a little shy and moved quickly to opening up a bit. Told her how Lily keeps her win ribbons hung above her bed. How Lily is a stricter dog parent then me etc. But, lets face it. Mercedes would be on my counter every time I turned my back if we every gave her a scrap of people food. 

Oh it was so fun. I'm pretty sure I answered some questions about T.V. Shows like the Kardashians and Dance Moms. I may have even dissed on them a little. I will probably get HATE MAIL for years because of that. So I might as well make a public apology now. I'm sorry. Though, everyone in life deserves to prioritize their own things. Unless of course it's against the law etc...  I personally don't care for either of those shows because its not what I'd choose to focus on. There is definitely something for everyone. 

OK, so yea... FREAKING AMAZING! Am I Right! Mary kept saying, now... "if we're chosen, if we're chosen..." I'm freaking out... We want to be CHOSEN! My heavens please end out Misery, but don't at the same time because it's just fun to focus on something fun. It's been great fun. A very exciting adventure and poor Lily is just dying to know "If we're Chosen" 

If we're chosen, we'd be 1 of 10 junior handlers that will be featured on this show. We will be the only ones that do not go to dog shows full time. We are new, we are learning, we are ready. Thanks for reading, oh please comment below, share our news and subscribe to hear of our little journey's along the way. 

~never stop learning~