Revisiting The Past
by Arlene Miller
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This article was originally published in the magazine Dogs in Canada.

The recent ALAC National Specialty in St. Louis hosted a Breeder Education Seminar entitled "Tibet - Revisiting Our Past." The presentation was held in the Great Hall of the Holiday Inn, along room with a high ceiling. Traditional Tibetan prayer flags fluttered in the breeze and incense filled the senses of those entering the room. Our eyes took in several Tibetan artifacts including a large prayer wheel. Our ears thrilled to the sound of Tibetan music.

Leslie Baumann, President of ALAC and an avid historian, wove a fascinating saga of the history of the Lhasa Apso in the early 1900s. Using historic photos - many of which had not been seen before - she explained that it was not travel and adventure which drew westerners to the Roof of the World, but politics. Leslie concluded her lecture with declaration that "the bamboo curtain slammed over Tibet, but the story of our Lhasa Apsos doesn't end."

Debby Rothman spoke next, tracing the path of the gompa dogs from the Roof of the World to Canada, then to Virginia and finally to Colorado. Debby shared her observations of the gompa dogs in her care and explained the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program. She concluded her presentation with the statement "as I was gifted these dogs, as was Ceese, as was Gerald, as was Lama Gyen Yeshe in 1941 from the Drepung Monastery, I share this gift with you."

At this point six of us including Debby, all dressed in Tibetan clothing, re-entered the room down the centre aisle to the dramatic accompaniment of solemn Tibetan music. Many of the pieces including the jewelry worn by Debby were given to her by Madame Yolande de Zarobe of France for the event. I wore a dorje acquired by Barbara Ratledge on a visit to a Tibetan refuge camp. The only sound as we proceeded down the long aisle was the music - all else was silence.

When we reached the front of the hall, each of us placed our dog on one of the six draped tables which awaited. Dogs and people sat silently, respectfully. It was a memorable night.

People were given the opportunity to touch the dogs and ask questions of the handlers. For myself, I was transported back in time to my first meeting with the original gompa imports in Calgary nearly 20 years earlier. They were unchanged. The heads, bites, coats and demeanor had remained constant.