September 1963 - Burlington, Iowa was cooling down from a hot summer, and I hoped the weather wouldn’t be too much of a change for my two new little dogs - Lhasa Apsos from Gloria Fowler in (Everglo Kennels) Bakersfield, Ca. Gloria and I had been corresponding, as I wished to purchase a female for possible showing and breeding; she had sent me a note and pedigree on a small red female (with a swatch of hair attached!) that sounded ideal to me.
          I had visited Georgia Palmer (Ruffway Kennels) in Addison, IL near Chicago to see her dogs, and had fallen in love with the breed there. Georgia’s dogs had greeted me with open paws, flew into my lap, smothered me with kisses, and delighted me with their wonderful attitudes. The beautiful flowing coats were magnificent, and I wanted one just like her beautiful black and white champion … but Georgia had nothing available, nor would have for some time.
          She suggested I write to Dorothy Cohen or Gloria Fowler, as they had puppies available. I never received a reply from Dorothy (Karma Kennels), it seems her husband was quite ill, and her time was taken up with caring for him … but Gloria sent me information immediately. A breeder much later said how different things would have been had Dorothy answered my letter first!
          The Karma Kennels had acquired all the dogs from the Cuttings Hamilton Farms in New Jersey, down from their original imports in the 30’s. Gloria’s dogs were a mixture of Hamilton dogs from Dorothy Cohen, and Ch. Kai-Sang’s Clown of Everglo stock which she had bred together. It was not the approved method of breeding, as Mrs. Cohen had insisted the Karma stock be kept "pure", and not interbred with other lines.
          Of course, I knew nothing of this, just that I wanted Lhasas good enough to show and perhaps breed from … so when Gloria offered me the little red female (who was to become Ch. Kai-Sangs Flame of Everglo), it meant nothing to me that her sire was Ch. Kai-Sang’s Clown of Everglo out of Hamilton Norden - one of the cross-breds. Gloria also had a 4 mos. old gold male she thought I might like, and offered him to me at a pet price - he was also sired by Clown out of a Clown daughter. I knew I didn’t need a male, as I hoped to work with Georgia in a breeding program, but I knew I could always sell him as a pet if I didn’t think he was good enough to show, so "Sparky" (Ch. Everglo’s Spark of Gold) came along as well.
          I can still see the two small crates in my front yard, under the big Elm tree … I opened the puppy’s crate first, and this self-assured little cream male stepped out, walked over to the tree and sprinkled it liberally! He walked around, checking out his surroundings, and allowed me to hold him for a minute - then more investigating. I opened the other crate to find this glorious little red girl about 8 mos. old, her hair up in a little ponytail with a very worried look on her little face. She clung to me when I picked her up, and from that moment on, followed me everywhere I went. She seemed so small and helpless, she was my love … she will always be the small flame in my heart.
          Flame was small, but she had the knack of putting the other dogs in their place … and she knew I would always back her up, so she became a little tyrant, which suited us both. Sparky just seemed to take life in stride - supremely self confident and regal, he just had an "aire" about him from the time he first arrived until he died 14 years later … he was my friend.

          I'd been showing Yorkshire Terriers and Min. Schnauzers ... so I knew the importance of grooming; however, I didn't quite know what to do with all that hair! We had indoor/outdoor runs with black rubber doors that swung back and forth ... and the dogs ran a lot on our 2 1/2 acres. I hated keeping them cooped up, but it seemed that no matter what I did, the coats just didn't get as long as I wanted.
          I tried every suggestion, every shampoo, every de-matting concoction on the market, but it just seemed nothing worked. Flame's coat was pretty easy to care for, but Oh! that puppy coat on Sparky just defied me. One weekend I was at the shows, Sparky was about 8 months old by now, and developing into quite a handsome youngster ... he was so glad to see me, gave me the old nuzzle and got silly playing. I noticed some hair missing on the show side near his hindquarters, and asked Dad and the Son what had happened. Well, it seemed he had been out adventuring with Bill, my son, and had acquired a few burrs ... so Dad and Bill cut them out to make him more comfortable! Well, the damage was done, they felt bad enough, so I didn't say much ... but that set us back several months from showing! Sparky loved it, though, he liked nothing more than a ramble in the field or orchard, rain or shine. I did them out once a month with a slicker brush, and then a bath ... it's a wonder they had any coat at all!
          I'd been reading the Lhasa Apso Standard, memorizing it, looking at pictures of Lhasas, and one of the questions I had for Gloria was their heads. I thought they looked "rounder" in eye than what I'd seen at Georgia's, and more pronounced stop; when I asked her about this, she replied that there were many head types in the breed and not to worry - so I didn't! They had nice straight legs, flat little backs, upright head carriage with tails set on well up and over their backs. Sparky had a "flag" tail when he arrived, but as his coat grew, the tail came over and touched his back. Neither had a tight curl in their tails.
          They were good eaters, healthy and happy, and I really enjoyed their antics ... so different from the Schnauzers and Yorkies! The Lhasas were content to be near me, never pushy or demanding attention ... Flame loved to be held, but Sparky was too independent - a little cuddling went a long way with him. He never kissed, just pushed his nose on me with a little shove, to tell me he thought I was OK. But oh how they moved, I can still see them flying along together, those bright little dogs - covering ground so effortlessly, heads up, hair flying behind ... what a picture.

          Winter in Iowa is tough - lots of snow, cold and damp ... "cabin fever" set in about January, and by February I was anxious to get back in the ring. Ottumwa, Iowa held its show every February in the Armory, so I decided to take along my new kids to see what they would do in the ring. I had Schnauzers entered, and when I got the entries back, was astounded to see a five pt. major in Lhasa bitches! Wow, I didn't know what to expect, didn't know the judge, Mr. Cross from Canada, and wasn't sure about grooming ... but I felt I could only do my best, and go from there.
          Sparky and Flame were bathed, creme rinsed, blow-dried and parted within an inch of their lives! Schnauzers require so much preparation, these Lhasas seemed easy after that. Of course, I rounded off the feet, cleaning the hair between the pads ... scissored some hair from between the eyes (how could they hope to move with all that hair hanging in front of their eyes, anyway?), and trimmed a little under the tail for neatness. To me, they looked glorious - Flame's coat was to the ground, and Sparky - well he looked like the puppy he was. He was the only dog entry, and in the puppy class - Flame was in open ... and I had no high hopes of winning over five bitches, but at least she would look good. I spent a lot of time getting those parts perfectly straight, it wasn't easy, and I did them over several times, but finally they looked suitable to me.
           When I got to ringside with my Lhasas, there was a lady from St. Louis there with the other bitches. They were all kind of a grizzle color, undetectable parts, and didn't look bathed. This poor lady had dogs in every class, it seemed, and a friend that helped her get them in and out of the ring. I was beginning to feel a little better with my shiny little Lhasas ... so Sparky came right in, flew around the ring, and got his blue ribbon and winners dog. There was a puppy bitch, a novice bitch, a bred-by-exhibitor bitch and one in American Bred ... then it was our turn to go in with the other open female. Flame, with her beautiful red sable coat gleaming, sashayed into the ring as if she owned it, while the other Lhasa crept around, very unsure of herself ... and I knew Judge Cross liked Flame, and couldn't take his eyes off of her.
          What a thrill to take WB, BW and Best of Breed and a five point major - my very first time in the ring with my new kids ... there was no holding me back after that! There were a lot of handlers in Schnauzers, and it was tough to win - so this was a new experience for me. Later, I found out that there weren't many Lhasas being shown at all, and many times I had the only entries.                                                    (next page)