Dog news

So some news from the world of dogs.  In the past, I have talked about Snuppy.  The first dog to be cloned.  And the fact that anyone could have their dog cloned - if they had the cash - with the reported costs ranging from $50,000-$100,000.  And there are no doubt people who have done it.  But for the first time (that I know of anyway) someone in the spotlight has done it.  It seems Barbara Streisand has cloned her Coton de Tulear, Samantha, who died last year at the age of 14.  The cloning actually resulted in 4 puppies, one of which died.  She gave one puppy to a friend and kept two.  She also has another Coton who is a distant relative to Samantha.  Now while the new Samanthas may look like the original Samantha, there is no guarantee that their personalities will be exactly the same.  Right now, Barbara says she is waiting to see what that will be like as they get older.

While my human adores us, she says she is not planning to clone any of us.  She says the world can only take one Viktor the PON.  No kidding.

In other news, Alina Zagitova, a gold medal figure skater from Russia is getting a gift from Japan.  It seems the young woman trained in Japan, and while she was there, she fell in love with Akitas. The 15 year old had asked her parents if she could get one if she did well in the Games.  And so, a group that is dedicated to preserving the breed in Japan, has offered her one.  Pretty nice reward for doing well.  While the breed is said to be loyal and devoted to family, they are also said to be stubborn.  Sounds familiar.  It also sounds like you need a really good vacuum cleaner if you are owned by one.  Let's hope Alina is prepared...

And lastly, this week people will be flocking to Birmingham, England for one of THE best dog events in the WORLD. March 8-11 is the Crufts dog show. There will be a total of 21,032 dogs competing this year - representing 49 countries.  I see that, of course, most of the dogs are from the UK, with an entry of 17,409.  The next highest entry is from France with an entry of 462. Poland has an entry of 117, and 37 dogs are coming from the US.  Canada has 8 dogs entered.  We'll be watching the proceedings on-line - with the groups being judged on the following days: 

Thursday: Working and Pastoral groups

Friday: Terrier and Hound groups

Saturday:  Tility and Toy groups

Sunday:  Gundog group

Keep in mind that this is just the conformation part of Crufts.  There is also obedience, agility and rally and demonstrations of everything you can think of with dogs - freestyle, scent work, drill team, retrieving - you name it.  And I won't begin to talk about the SHOPPING.  My human is going through Crufts withdrawal - she has been a few times and had hoped to go again this year, but the stars didn't quite align.  Maybe next year!

So that's the latest in dog news.  Have a good one!

Peace and paws up!

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