We are on Wednesday, the day before the event that I have been waiting for exactly a year, with a great desire for redemption. In fact, last year Koby had participated in it and on the eve of the event he was one of the favorites: on the bulletin boards of bulldogists from all over the world, in the toto-bets of the days preceding the race, there was always his name. He had just been proclaimed European champion, (championship judged by a highly esteemed judge among the most famous in our dog world), the judge who judged the crufts last year is a great admirer of his bloodline and perhaps he is the breeder who at the world achieved the best results using Koby's father, the legendary Merriveen Make My day. So the conditions were the best and, consequently, the expectations were very high: this is the reason why the disappointment of not having conquered even a position on the podium was immeasurable. Which in me generated, after the first moment of daze, a huge desire for revenge. This is the feeling that has accompanied me for a year now: the desire for revenge.

We move from the breathtaking North Sea location where we spent the last three days heading to impassive Birmingham. A new inconvenience awaits us at the gate, sneaky and cowardly; Koby gets a pimple on his thigh! It is a pimple, a small abscess, with a tip full of pus. You can hardly see it, but I know from experience that within a few hours it will get worse and some hair will fall out. Needless to say, from the moment it appeared, to the time of the competition I counted the hairs that were falling out every 5 minutes.  A real misfortune, because even if it is a small, relative and temporary problem. but we are participating in the most famous beauty contest in the world and the pimple is such a nuisance.

Sleepless night I tell you to do!

When the alarm goes off, I'm already showered, hair dried and straightened, dressed and made up.  Trick that nothing can against the atrocious dark circles, the obvious consequence of the sleepless night. The hotel where we stay is ten meters from the Crufts entrance, so as soon as Laura reaches us, we walk inside the fabulous NEC.

The judge appointed this year is Mr. Terry Davison, a historic bulldog breeder, owner of the renowned and famous BRAMPTON affix. I know him, he has judged me several times, in Italy and abroad in my almost thirty-year career as an exhibitor and... EVER, NEVER, NEVER once in my life has my dog ​​won with him.. This is not very reassuring, but I now have Koby, who has been my "first time" dog since he was born. And I can't wait to compete. I have had a recurring dream for a month, I think about it and I am filled with optimism.

The judge is of a certain age, but despite this he is very safe and quick in judging and the classes preceding ours take place quickly. Our time comes soon, they call the class and...

End of part two

to be continued…

March 14, 2020