The Gossip Column, August 13, 2021

With this third wave of Covid called Delta sweeping across the country, let’s all do our part to follow masking and other instructions so our sport doesn’t have a repeat of last year. ...

Following a long self-imposed hiatus from judging, Welshman ANDREW BRACE, now living in England, is back: He judged a Tibetan Spaniel championship show in conjunction with the Bath Championship show, his first assignment in several years. We at DOG NEWS affectionately refer to ANDREW’S return to judging as BACKBRACE. It will be interesting to hear his take on the show scene after such a long break. ...

ELLIOTT WEISS is currently rehabbing from recent knee-replacement surgery, adding to the growing number of joint replacements that are becoming commonplace in our sport. ...

A couple of pet products on the market can be of some use; they include one I wish I had years ago. The IFETCH TOO is a pod that throws tennis balls 10 to 40 feet up to 250 times on a single charge. Once you teach your dog to drop the ball in the top of the pod, you can sit back and let your dog get exercise chasing tennis balls while you give your aching shoulders a rest. It is available for $200 at goifetch.com. ...

Family and friends gathered in Chicago and held a surprise birthday party for Scottish Deerhound and Dachshund fancier ANNE MCCASKILL MOROH. Anne was lured to Chicago thinking it was a surprise birthday party for her sister, former United States Senator from Missouri CLAIRE MCCASKILL. ...

The Whippet, Italian Greyhound and Quarter Horse worlds have lost one of their most successful and popular members with the passing of nonagenarian CAROL HARRIS. Her BO-BETT prefix can be found on a number of top-winning and producing dogs. She enjoyed equal success in the world of Quarter Horses, where she bred, showed and judged. All of us at DOG NEWS send our deepest sympathies to her family and many friends around the country. ...

Celebrating Wedding Anniversaries … GEORGEAN & DON JENSEN, MICHELE MOLNAR & JAMIE DANBURG. Celebrating Birthdays … LISA MILLER, MERRY JEANNE MILLNER, DAVID FITZPATRICK, CINDY VOGELS, WOOD WORNALL, LORENE HOGAN, NORM KENNEY, MARY ELLEN CAMPAGNON, ALBIN PAUST, LISA BETTIS, ANNE MARIE MOORE, GLEN LAJESKI, ROZ KRAMER, DEVON KIPP LEVY, JUDY VANDERLIP, WENDY PINTO, VICKY CCOK, BILL SAHLOFF, LYNN MEYER, NIKKI RIGGSBEE, JEFF HANLIN, RENEE POPKEY, JIM OWNES, CONNERY COLE, KAREN SPEY, DALE KAPLAN, GUSTAVO MOLINARI, DOROTHEA HAND, MARETH KIPP, PAT LAURANS, THERESA NESBITT, SCOTT KELLOGG, TOM WEIGAND, KENNY SAENZ and TONY DINARDO.