Vassar Square Yorkies
HOW I
BECAME AN AKC CHAMPION Born in January 1994, one boy with two sisters, into a small kennel with good repute, my breeder, Mum, already made up her mind she was not keeping any more boys. Mum said, "I don't care how good he looks, I cannot keep any more boys". She treated me very nice and told me she wished she could keep me too, but the cost of finishing a champion had increased so much in the last ten years or so and because my dad was being shown and she still had my Champion grand dad, she just had to find a nice family for me to live with. Mum said, "You will probably thank me because showing and traveling is hard and sometimes disappointing and you do not get to pick your favorite places to rest and play like you do when you're a pet". So, I was not upset, when at 12 weeks of age, a young lady decided she wanted to surprise her husband with me as a birthday present. She said he had always had a Yorkie since he was a little boy and they had recently lost him to old age. Mum called me Hudspah, but the new lady, Winnie, didn't like that name and renamed me Hartford. Mum took me to the airport and those planes were so loud, it made me nervous. Mum stayed around until the last minute. The plane was so small they put me in the same place the people were, in the back, and I could hear people talking and laughing so that helped some. Before too long, the awful noise stopped and a pretty girl came and got me and said, "Your people are waiting for you...you must be very special." Winnie said I was everything she thought I would be and Hubby would be delighted. We went to the office where Hubby worked and everybody stopped working to welcome me to Los Angeles. I gave out thousands of kisses and they all giggled every time I washed their faces. Hubby called Mum to tell her I arrived safely and they were all very pleased with me. When we got home, I was really lost in this big mansion and Winnie and Hubby told me I was free to play anywhere I wanted. They put some newspapers down in a corner and said I should "make" there. I didn't know what they wanted me to make, but I decided to think about that later. Having a lot of investigations to do, I took off on my own and found a big blue floor with ladders and boards around it. It looked like a cool place to start, so I ran out on it. It was not much of a playground and I sank immediately. I froze and floated and luckily Hubby was nearby and jumped in and scooped me out of what I now know is "pool." It seems that Mum had told him not all dogs swim naturally when they fall in water and he was watching me and saw me jump in. A big black cat, named Lucifer, lived there and he looked "bad" but he was always purring and trying to get me to run and chase him. We got to be good friends and he helped me to scare the horses when we ran along the fence. Lucifer would nuzzle the horses when they came in for the night. The horses were afraid of me, I just knew it, because I would dig in my back feet and do "the bull" and once I bit one on the nose when he stick it through the fence...not too hard...just enough so the horse would notice me. Then the chase began and we would run back and forth along the fence and would really tell the horses off and that they had better stay on their side of the fence!! Winnie and Hubby had friends over and a famous friend, Sharon Bellafonte, told them I was a really beautiful Yorkie and that she had one too. All the friends played with me and called me "sweetheart" and all that cutesy stuff. This was a good life. Everyone was giving me treats as I ran around the patio, staying clear of the blue floor known as the pool. Then, Winnie had Baby and just did not want me around like before. I heard Hubby call Mum and ask why I always insisted on sitting on their laps or sticking to them like Velcro all the time. I guessed that they were getting tired of me but I missed all the cuddling I got when I first came. Anyway, I was banished to the utility room, because Winnie said every time I barked I woke Baby. Baby liked me as he was always smiling when I licked his feet and he gurgled all the time I was around and watched me playing with my toys, throwing them in the air. Winnie and Hubby decided I had to go to obedience school, and a lady named Ginny came and picked me up to go to her school. Lots of important celebrities took their dogs to her and she trained them to be good. I tried hard to learn and every time she told me to sit, I sat. When she said "good dog" I jumped in her arms and kissed her face because I loved the praise so much. She sprayed water on me every time I barked, but I didn't mind because it felt good as it was so hot. She would yell at me and then laugh because I liked it and shook it off enjoying the game. We went for long walks on the leash and ran a lot...I liked that. She told me I was a "good dog" a lot. I even ran up and down next to the fence when Ginny was on the horse and told that big klutz horse to be careful because I really liked Ginny and didn't want anything to happen to her. Well, after a month, Winnie and Hubby came to pick me up and bring me home. Now, I was no longer allowed to sleep with them because Baby was almost always nursing and in their bed. I missed my friends at the ranch and I made sure Winnie and Hubby knew it because I whined and barked a lot to get out of that room and play with Baby...Baby like me...I knew he would..He still smiled and gurgled and cooed constantly when he saw me. He was such a tiny human, the likes of which I had never seen. He could not even walk. We could have had such fun if I could have only joined them in the bed. Winnie and Hubby were very upset with the tangles and burrs that had matted my coat when I lived on the ranch and took me to the beauty parlor, where they buzzed me down to a full body crew cut....what humiliation. When Winnie and Hubby saw me they were very upset. Hubby called Mum and asked if he could return me and get another puppy when Baby was older and I heard him tell Winnie that Mum was happy to take me back either with a full refund or with a replacement when they were ready. It seems that my real dad was in great pain from a back injury and was paralyzed. He had to be put to rest and Mum was sorry she had let me go. Hubby told Mum that my hair was gone and she said not to worry because it would grow. There were lots of tears when Hubby took me to the airport to send me back but I was looking forward to seeing my real mom and relatives again. When Mum saw meat the airport, she was crying too, and told Pa I was beautiful and everything she thought I would be and I would surely be a champion just as soon as my hair grew back. Well the rest is history because Mum grew back my hair with careful attention, and they do not think I bark too much, and I have had several weddings and some lovely kids of my own starting to go to the shows. Mum was going to wait until the Fall of 1996 to send me out to show, but she injured her arm and couldn't brush me so I took another noisy plan trip to San Francisco to Carol and Wally Rice's Finishing School. Out of 12 shows, I took the Breed every time for the points, only losing two times and finished my title in less than a month. Now I wiggle my ears and strut around knowing Mum thinks I'm beautiful and I am sure Carol and I have convinced the judges also that I am a hunk! Carol and Wally love to "show" me and they give me lots of treats that I love, especially that "Rollover" stuff. I'll be home with Mum and Pa soon and of course, all my girls. I like that part best! I'm really special to all of them.
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