That Dudley is in Sweden is really quite special for us.

When I judged at the "Talk To The Animals" show in Melbourne in 1996, I had a beautiful black male BOB. It was easy for me to see his type as he was so like Dorian Gray’s father, Eng Int Nordic Ch Ffrith Smoke Cignal. I liked this Lhasa so much I gave him the Group, the first time I have ever placed my own breed so high. The dog of course was Dudley. After talks with Dudley’s owner and breeder Jim Grundig, we finally got the offer to have Dudley with us for one year and what a success it has been.

After the long and complicated flight, Dudley, Jim and Steve arrived in Stockholm last April (1997). Dudley made himself right at home. No quarrels with our three Lhasas and one Tibetan male. He loved the sofa but decided the best place to sleep was under the cage of our Cockatoo, Triton. We think it helped him feel like home.

Dudley’s firs show was in the beginning of May. To say that I was nervous was putting it mildly. Would he show for me? Would the judge like him? Well he flew around the ring like he owned it. The judge loved him, giving him CC and BOB. The Group judge was Terry Nethercott (UK), a Lhasa CC judge in England and he gave Dudley the Group. He had previously given us Group with a Smoke Cignal daughter, so we thought he should like the type and he did. Unfortunately the BIS judge didn’t look (or touch) him, but it was a great debut! More astonishingly, the other Lhasa exhibitors also loved him and are using him at stud.

The success story continued, and at his fourth show he went all the way, BIS under Mrs Mary Hickie of Australia, making him the eighth Lhasa ever to win BIS in Sweden (we owned or bred five of the others). More Groups and group placements were to follow along with a BIS second and third (we place five dogs at BIS judging).

While Torbjorn and I were judging in Australia and NZ, August 1997, Goran had to handle Dudley. He hates showing dogs and he did it unwillingly in case Dudley lost and he got the blame. He need not have worried, he did a great job. Dudley had a group third and fourth placing along with a BIS at the Eastern Lhasa Specialty.

In October it was the Tibethounds Silver Jubilee. In an entry of over 50, Dudley was BOB for Valerie Stringer and BIS for Margareta Sundqvist, a Tibetan Terrier breeder. The clapping and cheering as Dudley went around the big ring was incredible, his biggest fans coming from the Shih Tzu exhibitors who love seeing a Lhasa that shows better than a Shih Tzu. It was a very exciting and prestigious win.

The one trip to Norway was successful with Dudley gaining his CC, CACIB and BOB as well as his Norwegian title. The trip to Denmark meant that we had to miss our second largest show where "on paper" we had a good chance of doing really well, but his Danish title was more important. Denmark has the largest entries in Scandanavia and are all very typey. 47 were entered, Dudley being the only grey, the others mainly being golden or cream. To our delight we won the CC, CACIB and BOB and finally, under Rainer Vourinen, Group first. The next day he was placed 4th BIS out of the ten Group winners.

Now only two shows are left for the year. At the SSD Derby final Dudley was again BIS, which just left the Stockholm International in December. Well sometime he had to be beaten. It was just unfortunate that at this show Terry Nethercott was again the Group judge. Dudley was beaten though he did get the CC, and CACIB but only Runner-up BOB.

With very limited showing (14 shows) due mainly to our judging commitments Dudley did win "Top Lhasa in Sweden", 4 BIS (2 All Breeds & 2 Specialties), 6 Group firsts, 14 CCs, 13 BOBs, 6 CACIBs and many new friends.

1998 started out with a bang! Gothenberg Int Show, 3500 dogs - our third largest show. Dog CC, CACIB and BOB from Christopher Habig (Germany). Group first from Louis PintoTexeira (Portugal), and BIS 2 under Carl Johan Adlercreutz who had given Dudley Runner-up in Group at Brisbane Royal in 1996.

We have just been informed that Dudley has qualified for the Champion of Champions contest in Easter. Only four dogs from each Group are invited.

This year there will be some Swedish shows and hopefully some trips to the Continent, with the highlight being the World Show in June in Helsinki, which means "D Day" as Dudley will be due to return "Down Under", something we are not looking forward to as he has come to mean so much to us not just as a great Lhasa and show dog, but as a very special "friend".

To have Dudley in Sweden has been great fun and as I had hoped and believed also good for the breed because it is not often that such a great breed type is combined with such great showmanship. Hopefully we will have lots of ‘little Dudleys and Dudlianas" to continue with. The first look most promising.