Dove, A French Angora That Understands Mandarin

Dove is a big strong girl.

Judge Joy picked Dove as French Angora BOB, she said, "I love this rabbit!"

Betty says,

In March I went to the PacWest RBA show in Myrtle Point, Oregon.    I was admiring Dawn's beautiful French Angora, Dawn offered to gift me one.   I was really flattered; after some thoughts and talking it over with Dawn, we decided that I would show this beautiful chocolate French Angora doe FNF's Dove but Dawn will retain a co-ownership.

Dove weighed a little over 8 pounds when she came to CA with me in March; now she is close to 10 pounds, all 10 pounds of pure muscle.   She is strong-willed, much more diva-like than my English Angora.   Dawn told me to be strict with Dove as French Angora could push limits a lot more than the English Angora.    Dove is very smart to have sensed my reservation about her powerful kicks, she tested my ability.

Dove has won two legs when Dawn showed her, I did not take her to a show until the big WCC show weekend in Reno in Dawn's name and my name jointly.     Out of six shows, Dove won Best of Breed four times and Best Opposite Sex of Breed once, took a total of 5 legs.   

When we came home from Reno, Dove was even more of a diva; she lunged and teethed me.   I got fed up,  I yelled at her loudly in Mandarin Chinese.    A miracle happened, she lowered her head and became totally submissive.

Now when I open her cage, she lowers her head and waits for my petting and head-scratching.  She loves to listen to my Mandarin Chinese.

She must have been a Chinese rabbit in her previous life!

Found on the Net: Kindling of Cheetah Cubs

We breed our rabbits, but we seldom get a chance to eyewitness the kindling process.   We usually see the newborn bunnies in the nestbox warm and alive or scattered and cold.

A website called Africam streams live of wildlife in Africa. On May 2, the birth of three Cheetah cubs were live streamed. A abbreviated version is edited and posted on the website and on youtube.

It's a wonderful experience to see at least one of the cubs slowly coming out of the mama Cheetah's body on the video:

click


Enjoy the experience.

Mary Jane is Dreaming of .....

I love shopping, this shopping bag is mine!  I am dreaming of shopping, shopping, shopping... buying all the cat food in the store and fill this entire shopping bag with delicious cat food.

What? What's going on?

What's going on?   You interrupted my sweet dream of shopping, see what you've done!

English Angora in Indonesia

Judges Allen and Chris Z went to Indonesia to judge the first ARBA sanctioned rabbit show. We are very honored to have judge Allen guest blogged about his experience with the English Angora there.

BOB EA Show B

Judge Allen and Khy SiQhy, owner of the BOB English Angora.

Judge Allen and the English Angora BOB winner.

Allen says,

"Chris and I judged the 1st ARBA show in Indonesia in late March. It was also the very first ARBA show south of the equator. It was a true honor to be asked, and a great pleasure to work with the breeders there. Everyone was not only kind and generous to us, but also very passionate about their rabbits. As ARBA members, we are all so lucky that they have adopted our standards and parent organization. Many opportunities for the ARBA exist in this region of the world. More shows are sure to follow.

One of the most surprising rabbits to judge were the English Angoras. The colored senior doe class had around 10 entries! The rabbits were beautifully groomed, in good condition, and consistent with many of the same qualities that we embrace here in the USA. Remarkably, none of the rabbits were directly imported or freshly related to any US rabbits. This is starkly different from most of the other breeds at the show. Most rabbits that were exhibited had been directly imported from the US or were early generations from imported rabbits. The English Angora breeders I spoke to had been raising the breed for quite some time. One breeder has around 100 English Angoras!

The English Angoras that were freshest in coat had near similar wool texture to USA English Angoras. The colored doe that I picked BOB was around 8 months old, had a free flowing coat to the skin, and had a silky texture. She was also adorned with dense facial and ear furnishings. While her nose was free of wool, one breed characteristic that was common was complete wool coverage over the nose. There is some disagreement among the breeders in Indonesia regarding nose coverage; some breeders strive for it, while some breeders strongly oppose it. When asked my opinion, I was somewhat uncertain! After all, our ARBA SOP does not address wool on the nose.

The show was a huge success, and the interest in rabbits is there to last. It was refreshing to visit with such energetic people, and very reassuring to see how well maintained and managed the rabbits were. The breeders' intentions are true, and the quality of the animals in the years to come will be consistent with their dedication. "

Hotel Room at Reno

The casino hotel is quite nice.   The blue satin pillow does not belong to the hotel though.

Here is the owner of the blue satin pillow: Casey.   Casey loves her pillow so much that she brings it whenever she is staying overnight.    The other bed is to be used by Betty who does not have a special pillow.

Stephanie Says Hello to Blog

Stephanie says, "Hi, when am I going to be in a blog post?"   Here she is!

Stephanie worked hard for the WCC including but not limiting to taking judges to and from the airport.   She was ready to leave for the airport as this picture was taken.

A Wedding Reception During WCC at Reno

A very happy Beverly stands with two huge cakes.

A huge raspberry cake celebrates Beverly and John's union.

On the other side of the table, a huge cream filled cake doubles the celebration.

After 21 years of engagement, John and Beverly finally tie the knot and got married in Reno.   They spread their happy news in the West Coast Class rabbit show by sharing the cakes with the exhibitors.