ATL Weekend of Horror & Redemption

I drove up to the Atlanta shows Friday after work with a BBE dog and BBE ***** I had intended to get away from work around noon, leave at 1, and arrive around 7.  Unfortunately, my work was it's usually insanity and I didn't get away until after 5. The 6 1/2 hour drive up 75 (past the site of the giant accident last week) is always a joy, but espeically so after working 11 hours. 

I get in around 1:30am, check-in to the Red Roof Inn on the southside, Stockbridge, excerise the puppies, schlep everything I need for the night up to the 3rd floor, and then try to settle into bed at which point I realize I have left my iPhone in the van which I can't remember if I locked.   After running down to the van for the phone (and locking it), I collapse into bed around 2:30.  This would not be so much of an issue if I didn't have an 8:00am ring time (god forbid the Manchesters should show after 9:00am). 

Saturday morning, I'm up at 5:30 at which point I hustle the puppies out of their crates and head back down for morning potty call.  When I get back up to the room, I get a fraud alert email on my phone from one of my credit cards.   I start looking around the room for my purse.  I had brought up the night before in a crate.  No purse.  I call my husband so he can call the bank, head down to the desk to see if anyone had turned in my purse...  Nope.  My hsuband calls me back, and says to call the police.  Someone had tried to use the card at an ATM 1/2 mile down the road from my hotel at 5:36am.  

In the space of 5 minutes after I left to ex my dogs, my card was being used.  It's obvious I was targeted.  They are not sure how they got into my room --whether the door didn't latch properly or there was a duplicate key.  Fortunately I had the keys to my van and my iPhone on me, and my sunglasses were in the van.  

As I waited for the police, I realized that I was 450 miles from home in a van with 1/2 tank of gas with no drivers license, no checkbook, no cash, and no credit cards.  I couldn't even pay for parking at the show if I headed over there.  Luck would have it, I ran into another MT person who gave me $20 to get to the show and park.  I didn't think there was any way I'd make the ring as I waited for the police, and resigned myself to burning $50 in entries for the day. Police took my report, and said they would be back to view video footage from the hotel. 

I realized it was 7:35 and there were 7 Misc class dogs ahead of us.  My hotel was 12 minutes from the showgrounds.  If I booked I could make it; so, I ran upstairs, threw on some show-clothes, grabbed the puppies and some bait and raced off to the show. I didn't have time to pull out crates, cart, etc, so I grabbed my stroller (yes, I'm one of those "Toy" people with a stroller), tossed the puppies in, grabbed the show bag and ran (literally) into the building.

At this point, my stress level is off the charts, and I have 2 young, inexperienced dogs to show -- one of which had NEVER been in the ring before. Ideally, I show up an hour early with young dogs, not 6 minutes.   I hand the ***** off to someone because I don't know if she'll dig out of the stroller or not since she doesn't live with me (co-owned), and I run in with my BBE dog.  He shows 'ok' despite the fact I'm a bundle of nerves.  Well, I win my class and then Winners dog with him which actually panics me worse because I can't just put him away and I have to show the *****  I trade the dog for the ***** with the kind soul ringside, and run in with the puppy who proceeded to do 'happy puppy showing like a Limpizane Stallion' around the ring because a) I've got her on the wrong lead, and b) she's had no time to warm up. She does NOT win her class, and I have WB to swap puppies again, and prep to go back in for Best of Variety.  

My male ended up with Best of Winners, and the pictures posted on Facebook show me on handling auto-pilot and looking FAR calmer than I felt.  One of my friends pulled $200 out of the ATM so I could get home. Back at the hotel, I got some sleep, went for a run, and visited with a non-dog friend who drove over for a couple of hours.  

We showed again this morning, much calmer cir****tances, and my BBE dog won WD again, but he kind of fell apart.  He decided the labs in the next ring might be up to no good and really didn't want to go near that side of the ring.  I had a come-to-jesus meeting with the ***** about walking on a lead properly, and she actually showed really well today.  She's a wild, you can't hurt her feelings, ***** and she can take a hard correction.  I put her on a narrow, leather, braided choke. That seemed to help.

Through it all I ate my baby-bel's cheese, tuna lunch kits,  cottage cheese, protein bars, etc.,  I brought in my little cooler from home.    One odd thing, whomever stole my purse also stole the bag of vitamins out of my room but not my prescription meds.  Go figure.  Being well prepared, however, was a key to getting through an uber-stressful day without resorting to bad food choices.  I may be out a fabulous Coach handbag and wallet, all my credit cards had to be cancelled, and my drivers license needs to be replaced, but I am very blessed to have been helped by other fanciers and to have built good habits post-op in terms of stress management (running, relaxing) and eating that really helped me get through a very trying day.