Page 168 - ShowSight - April 2020

Without dog shows to attend, how am I keeping busy? I am working remotely from home Monday through Friday from 7:30am- 4:30pm, I am reviewing hospital electronic medical records, dis- cussing the patient care and discharge plan with the physician and hospital’s RN case manager to make sure our patients are properly cared for and not subjected to unnecessary testing. I also work to make sure that the patient is discharged to the appropriate setting.
On weekends, I bathe and groom my dogs. I have one that I have been actively showing and I am focusing condition- ing him for the conformation ring as well as introducing him to performance venues.
Fun things are visiting local places that I have never been to because I was always at a show or getting ready for a show the following weekend.
I am registered nurse (RN), so I am careful about limiting potential exposure to the virus. I’m not on house arrest, but I do maintain a 6-8 foot space when in public.
If you’re an owner-handler, are you doing more training? As an owner handler, my goal is to maintain my standing in the Top-Ten throughout the year and receive an invite to the NOHS finals again this year.
I am working to improve on new grooming techniques, so I am working to improve those skills.
Most importantly, I get to spend more time with my wonderful dogs! After all, isn’t life all about our dogs?
LISA WESLEY
Do I work in healthcare? Yes. What type of position? Registered Nurse. Charge nurse/Staff nurse on a postpartum—mother baby couplet care unit.
Without dog shows to attend, how am I keeping busy? Working full-time, plus overtime when required. Playing with my dogs on off days. Grocery shopping for my homebound mother also. She has CPOD; she is truly on house arrest.
I get up at 3:45 to get ready for work and feed puppies and let them out. Then move to the adult dogs. I feed, then my husband lets them out as I am preparing my coffee and heading out the door.
I work several Saturdays a month depending on the schedule. But Sundays are “pajama days” at our house! Keith and I are in pj’s all day watching Netflix, reading, whatever. I also use that day for puppy training.
I am on travel restrictions, meaning I cannot leave town. I can drive to work or grocery store as absolutely needed. Otherwise, home. Has the quarantine changed my daily habits? It’s limited my shopping addiction for sure! I still enjoy my dogs. I haven’t been able to socialize my puppies this time. When they finished their puppy shots, we were not able to go out in public to Petsmart and such. Has it changed my mindset? Not really. As a nurse, I have always been a big hand washer. I have a full understanding of how germs are spread. I am more conscious of others who may be more at risk than I am, however. The chain of contagion. Has it altered my plans for the future? All my shows have been cancelled for the near future. But I fully intend to get back out when the restrictions are lifted. As an owner-handler, this has been my dream. I will not give it up.
If you’re an owner-handler, are you doing more training? I would love to do more training if it were offered. Online handling classes; online classes for “going over” the Sheltie; virtue judging; and online grooming for Shelties specifically.
If you’re a breeder, are you going ahead with a breeding? Hon- estly, I am not sure. As a nurse, I am on Disaster protocol, meaning, if my boss calls me into work, I cannot say no. This may not be a good time to breed for me. I can’t be sure to have the time I would need to care for a whelping mom.
ALLISON GILBERT
Do I work in healthcare? Yes. What type of position? Transition Support, under the Case Management umbrella at a hospital.
Without dog shows to attend, how am I keeping busy? I am still working. We are support Incident Command needs in addition to our previous daily job tasks. Our job assignments and task can change daily. On days I work, I get up at 5:45am. I let dogs out in the yard and drink a coffee to mentally prepare for my day. I bring in the dogs, get dressed and leave at 6:55 to make it into work and be ready to start my shift at 8am. My understanding is that I will need to leave earlier as the staff screening intensifies and lines get longer. My spouse and kids are home, so they let the dogs out to play in the dog yard a couple times before I get home at 5:30. On days I am off, I get the luxury of sleeping in until 8:30 or 9. This is new as I had to be up on school days I didn’t work before 7 to get the kids to school on time. We are doing a lot of property work. I had previ- ously worked opposite days as my spouse and could count on two hands the number of days we had off together in the previous year. I worked this past weekend. I am only required to work one weekend a month, but due to my spouse’s job loss I am trying to get addition shifts if and when they become available, including weekends.
If you are on “house arrest,” are you doing anything differently at home? We just went under shelter in place orders. I was able to foresee this coming. I made sure we had enough dog food/supplies and other pet supplies (we have pet bunnies and a bearded dragon) for at least two months. We have children with medical needs, so due to my spouse’s job loss as a result of coronavirus, we have had to switch insurances. This was unexpected and costly. Also due to job loss, there is a concern for ability to make mortgage payments if this lasts more than a few weeks. We have discussed moving to a less costly home if it comes to that in the future. We currently have a house on ten acres that we had built three years ago and anticipated staying in for another 12 years. We may need to place a dog or two if we move. Luckily, we only have six dogs of which two are pets (kids have a pet Chihuahua and we have a 11-year-old retired champion. Of the four show/breeding dogs we have, three are co-owned with the same co-owner. We have a puppy sitting on 14 points with three majors and a BISS that we were hoping to have finished with shows that had cancelled, and to show at our national that has closed as well. We will make sure that she gets out to finish after this is over.
If you’re an owner-handler, are you doing more training? If you’re a breeder, are you going ahead with a breeding? I have no time to add anything dog related to my plate at this time. In addi- tion to all of my previous expectations, I am now responsible to set up school curriculum for my now homeschooled children. And I am hoping I will have more hours added to my work schedule.
KATRINA L. STEWART
Do I work in healthcare? Yes. What type of position? Reception- ist/Tech at a Veterinary Hospital.
Without dog shows to attend, how am I keeping busy? I am doing more grooming/training at home. As well as doing dog sports, I am an avid hiker so the dogs and I are going hiking more.
If you are on “house arrest,” are you doing anything differently at home? Not on house arrest (thankfully!) I was a bit adrift after the cancellation of the Sheltie National as I had been working so hard getting dogs trained and conditioned. Having the dates of next year’s National on the calendar has helped. I have a dog who needs literally one point to finish and I am trying to remain positive and focused on keeping him in condition so when the shows start up again, we can get out there and get that last point.
166 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2020
COVID-19 Q&A