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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.
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