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This weekend was an USRC show that I had Duncan entered in. Duncan is 10 years, 7 months and 2 days old. He has cancer. He is in pretty darn good shape. Not a lot of muscle mass, but he is not FAT. His coat is wavy and doesn't lay down as much as it did before he was neutered. Yep, his coat went to %#$Q@# when he was neutered at age 3.
He still has his top and bottom lines, he still has his head shape, he still has all of his teeth and they don't need a cleaning. He can still stack better then most show dogs of any age. He has very good structure. Unlike a whole lot of dogs out there, he actually has the correct proportions for a rottweiler. He still can gait around the ring. Back when he was intact and a youth he earned SG ratings (that was before judges gave V ratings in the 12-18 class). The bottom line is that he has every every right to be in that ring this weekend.
My husband was ring side on the far side among a group of people that we don't know. He told me that there were many unkind comments about Duncan. Lots of animal noises like cow and sheep.
I almost wish that my husband didn't say anything. Three months ago I would have sworn that Duncan wasn't going to make it to this show. He has had a rough 3 months, but is now doing fabulous. He was very pleased to be out and showing. I was happy being out in that ring and showing him.
I can only assume that these people are on their first dog and never had an old show dog. I realize that these people don't know his history and that is fine. History has no place in a conformation show. But making animal noises and unkind comments have no place outside the ring when a veteran is being shown.