The Fabulous Icer

One of the biggest highlights of the whole National for me was showing my boy Icer in the Veterans classes.

On Wednesday he and I went into Veteran Sweeps. In a big class of nice boys he showed his heart out for me, ultimately placing 4th. A number of people later told me they thought he should have won the class. I know he probably looked and moved like the youngest dog out there, but he was closer to being one of the oldest! Given that I knew he was not the judges type, I was very pleased with his 4th place.

The following day I showed him in the regular Veterans class. I'm not sure if the reason he showed even better was because I was on such a high.... Just a few hours earlier I had just received the fantastic news that my friend Mary Carlson had gotten a report from her doctor saying she was clear of Hodgkin's disease - just a few short months after having been diagnosed with Stage 4B cancer. I was so happy and maybe my happiness made Icer show better. In any case he was fantastic. He flew around the ring light as a feather. I knew he was the type dog that the judge on that day would like and she sure did. He won his class easily amidst loud applause. The boy could not be denied!

One of the biggest compliments I got about Icer was from my friend Ken Granacki. Ken has a boy named Rapper, a multiple group winning and group placing dog. Rapper is just about the same age as Icer and as puppies the competed against each other at 4 shows in Denver and then again later that same year at the National. Icer won two of the days in Denver and Rapper won two. At the National, Rapper beat Icer in Sweeps and Icer beat Rapper in Futurity. They were in different regular classes for breed judging. They have never competed against each other since and over the years Ken and I have talked about getting them together as Veterans to break the tie that has held over the years.

Last year Rapper won the Veteran class. Icer stayed home. This year Rapper stayed home and Icer won the class. After Icer had received his ribbon and trophies on Thursday, Ken asked me if Icer would be at the National next year. I said yes, and Ken said that in that case, Rapper was staying home. :)

Icer and I are proud that he is following in his father's footsteps. Daddy Boomer (CH Saratoga's Sonic Boom WSX) won the veterans class at the National 3 times. May this year be the first of many more for his son.