It’s the biggest show in town.

It’s the Show of Shows!

All year long, we plan for it. We save; we train for it. All year long, we ask, “Are you going to Nationals?”

As a writer, I’m invited to quite a few Nationals. I’m invited to shows in Mexico, Canada and Europe; to grand-scale events in big arenas and fine hotels. I’m also invited to National events at armory buildings, racetracks and fairgrounds. Wherever they are, I can feel electricity all around me. I can sense something different in the crowd and the tone of the voices. The atmosphere is charged with emotion: victory, defeat; plotting, scheming! Something about my nature comes to life – and I love it.

One of the things I always notice is how the dogs respond to this excitement, too. Have you ever seen it? Have you ever seen dogs sensing the importance of the occasion and almost shaking with excitement? As if jolts of energy are pulsing from every cell of their bodies, they stand proudly, ears taking on a life of their own and eyes sparkling as they gait proudly beside handlers in smartly pressed suits and dresses. This is the Nationals and everyone must shine!

I often study these things about dogs as I watch from the crowd. I see them responding to the powerful intensity of their owners and fans as they hold our attention. With such things on my mind, I watched from the grandstand during the special presentation of past champions at a recent National show in Kentucky.

I saw five dogs boosted to new heights by the admiration and encouragment of their audience. Not a soul in that building could deny it.

I had never seen a class like this before. For a special presentation, the Show Committee had contacted its most unanimous past winners, inviting them out of retirement to re-live their moment of glory one last time. In the brilliant glow of a spotlight, five long-ago champions entered the ring.

One by one, their accomplishments were announced.

One by one, they were presented with special ribbons.

One by one, they were admired by a crowd stunned by how little their spirits had been touched by time. In the silvery glow of a spotlight, the dogs entered a stadium filled with respectful music. To applause, a standing ovation and tears, they left it.

I shared that night with friends, talking and laughing about interesting people we had seen, telling stories and speculating about all manner of things. But when it came to the parade of past champions, we looked at each other, grey hair at our temples, and fell silent. We fell silent because we had witnessed something important and we knew it. We fell silent because, that night, the tables had turned and it was beautiful.

We had come to Nationals to show our dogs, but, as they do so often, it was the dogs who had shown us. They had shown us that reaching for greatness is worth it. They had shown us that age is a measure of years, not a measure of one’s worth. They had shown us that champions live forever in those of us who love them.

As I parted from my friends, champions all in their own right, I knew (grey-hair at their temples or not) that we had a date. We would go home, take care of business and get ready. We would diet, primp, lift weights and have make-overs . . . and, just like the inspiring dogs we had just seen, we would live to laugh and romp once again, next year … at The Nationals.