Mutt Movers

Marianne belongs to a group that transports rescue dogs, mostly east of the Mississippi. It is organized by a woman called Martha and it's called Martha's Mutt Movers.

The dogs are transported by volunteers in relay fashion. It's been a few years since we drove one of the legs with a black Labrador but we took part again and our task was to pick up two dogs at a Cracker Barrel just off I-95 / route 543 and drop them off at a Dunkin Donuts just south of Philadelphia, a distance of about 60 miles. The relay starts in Georgia and ends in northern New Jersey.

Our route. We did not do all of the route in blue because we can avoid the $12 in tolls on I-95 by travelling on route 40, the grey route on the southern side.

We arrived at the Cracker Barrel parking lot and quickly found the vehicle that was described in the directions that were sent to us. No, the lady was not as terrified as she looked. The dogs were kissers, apparently,  and very well behaved.

By the way, I did ask permission to use their photos.

They even had a sticker on the side of their car identifying them as Mutt Movers.

Our drive up to the Dunkin Donuts was quite uneventful and the next vehicle was already there waiting for us. We had placed the two dogs in out cat carrier and we think the dogs slept most of the way since we did not hear a peep out of them. They were definitely not Airedales.

Chicca and Chicco who were just four months old. Hopefully they will enjoy life with their new owners, whoever they are. These ladies were another couple of dog loving volunteers, not the future owners.

So if you think you might want to help out, go to Martha's Mutt Movers and give it a try.

Airedales at the Montgomery County Kennel Club - Terrier Show

Our second Airedale, Bridgit, was a rescue dog. We got her from Airedale Rescue when she was about two years old and she brightened our lives for the next eight years. Airedale Rescue has groups all over the world and is probably one of the best organized Rescue groups. Marianne has been involved with the group for many years, particularly with the annual quilt raffle which is drawn each year at the Terrier Show.

The event is held at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. They have a campus with extensive grounds which are beautifully kept. When we arrived about 9:30, the front parking lot was almost full and a kind gentleman gave us a ride on a golf buggy down to the area where all the action was taking place.

The purpose of this blog is mostly to give people who bought raffle tickets a chance to see what it all looks like.

Not all of the photos are flattering. There are so many people milling about, it's difficult to take a photo without a human appearing. If you are upset by any of of these photos which will be seen by people world wide, let me know in the comments section and I will remove them.

If you have information about the dogs, add comments.

The main quilt. The Airedales are wearing hats. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and more about the quilt can be found here.

One of the bonus quilts made by Carolyn Finlayson and Sharon DeBoer.

More bonus quilts. Marianne created the quilt on the right and Candy made the lower left quilt. Linda Bell made the quilt on the top left. The wind was so strong that Lori was having some trouble keeping everything ship-shape but everything seemed to stay in place where it needed to be.

Airedales in primped condition, waiting to be judged.

Un-primped, no judging required.

The judging ring. The judge is the woman with the grey hair. Most of the dog owners were well dressed. To be honest, it's not a hobby I would want to get into, but I can understand the appeal.

Like most dogs, Airedales love to chew. 

Two puppies. It's good to bring your dog to these events because they get used to other dogs.

Airedale Rescue had three tents that were doing good business. One of the people who manned this tent was Candy who also maintained the web pages for the quilt raffle.

This is a picture of the first rescue quilt. More about it here.

Another Airedale Rescue tent that was getting set up.

Pinky owns Candy, but she had to sit in her cage.

The judging continued.

Our Airedales usually looked like this, quite woolly. Airedale hair needs to be stripped, not shaved or cut, so it is quite a process.

Presumably, the centerpiece is the prize for the dog that can jump the highest to get at the water bowl on top.

Of course, while an Airedale is the largest terrier, there are many other kinds of smaller terrier.

One of the huge tents where owners primped their dogs prior to showing them.

"I'm downright miserable in this cage". You can see it in the eyes. Most of the dogs seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I suspect the winners get their official photos taken here. Then the owner gets a ride on the Segway in the background.

There were quite a few tents where stuff was for sale.

I'm not particularly knowledgeable about other terrier breeds so let's just say these were small ones.

Another huge tent.

Porta-potties. 

I suspect there would have been bathrooms in the college building in the background where lunch was available. In the foreground are generators for the primping equipment.

Other breeds had tents, but Airedale Rescue was the only breed to have tents dedicated to the Airedales that have been rescued.

I did not know that Airedale Rescue had an official car.

This is an enormous event and there were parking lots filled with these campers. People who show their dogs a lot are very serious about it.

Somehow I can't imagine a fully grown Airedale doing this but it would have fun trying.

More tents with items for sale.

These were nice looking dogs.

Resting, but paying close attention.

The judging continued. It seems to be quite a lengthy process, taking much more time than what you see on TV when they show Crufts or the Westminster dog judging. The audience members were paying close attention. I couldn't tell what made a champion dog. They all look good to me.

There is nothing like giving your dog a friendly pat. 

Now that is a tail. It used to be that Airedale tails were chopped off at birth but fortunately that practice is now going away. You don't need to see a tail wag to know that an Airedale is happy.

Well, hello.

That woman with the tan dress forgot the proper colour for this breed.

Primping paraphernalia.

This link shows a West Highland Terrier.

I presume this is not a Westy.

Yet another huge tent. Large tents like this are often used at college graduations, particularly for large colleges.

Flat out.

Kerry Blues. It's worth reading the Temperament section of their Wiki article.

The judging seemed endless.

We had a good conversation about Australia with the owner of Phoebe who is eleven years old. As an older dog, she was quite happy to lay on your feet. We recommended staying at Wombat Bend near Melbourne which is a B&B with Airedales. Read about it here and here. By the way, Sue, one of the owners of Wombat Bend, won the quilt a couple of years ago.

All I can say is that if I was that dog at the back, I would be worried.

We left shortly before lunchtime. This was the first cold day of Autumn with temperatures in the low 50's. A strong wind made it feel much colder.

The raffle raised $16,522. It takes a lot of money to get a rescue Airedale ready for its new owners, particularly vet fees. For all of you who bought tickets or helped with the raffle in any way, the Airedales thank you.

Finally, an old photo of Bridgit and Robin.