Happy Birthday, Horace Vandergelder!

"All the troubles of man come from his not knowing how to sit still."
-Blaise Pascal, French philosopher (1623-1662)


Happy Birthday, Horace Vandergelder!
(This is Horace's grandfather, Grand Sire Ritzy!)
I don't mean David Burns, Eddie Bracken, Cab Callaway,Walter Matthau...etc.
I mean our baby, Horace Vandergelder Skipper-Sherman!
Danny and I had for about 11 years, a Yorkie named Chip. He was devoted to both of us and when we lost him six years ago, we were devastated.
When the holidays rolled around again, I said I wanted to get another Yorkie.
We were watching the CBS news one night when they did a story about getting the breed you were seeking without going through a pet store. Most dogs that end up in pet stores come through puppy mills. They suggested going to the American Kennel Association and putting in the breed you were seeking and a zip code and within a certain radius, all breeders registered with the American Kennel Association would show up. We tried it and found a breeder near the Delaware water gap. We made plans to meet with her on Saturday afternoon. Danny informed me that this was only the first breeder we would be seeing and that we did not need to make up our mind that day.
So on Saturday, we went to this farm and after she interviewed us as fit parents, she took us into this mobile home and let the dogs out! Interestingly enough, Danny and I both gravitated to Horace. There is an old saying that you don't choose pets; that they choose you. Whatever happened, we had our minds made up! Then she said before you get too attached to any of these dogs, please let me inform you that there are different prices based on their age, size, and lineage.
Of course, we had chosen the most expensive dog there!
This is a picture of Horace's father, Champion Edgewood's Sky High Blue, called 'Jag'.
Horace's mothers name was Poco in the Sky.Horace is descended from Champions.


Horace is noted as 'Boinb May 28,05' off to the left of the chart.(Seen below)






Our minds were made up! We had lots of paper work to fill out plus an agreement that our vet would see him within 72 hours to make sure there were no health issues and that he would be neutered.
He was at this point a little under 7 months old. We named him Horace Vandergelder,brought him home(this is a pic of Harace the day we brought him home), put him in his crate, and, unfortunately, due to a prior engagement, went out. When we came back, he was running around the house! How did he get out of his crate? This happened a few times until I caught him in the act! He would climb over the top. We learned very early on that Horace has confinement issues. Chip used to love to travel with us. Never an issue! But Horace WILL NOT go in a carrier. After a trip to Florida with him in which he barked the whole trip, going and returning, I said NEVER AGAIN!
Luckily for us, we have a tenant and therefore we are able to leave him at home.
One other thing that we have learned about Horace is that he loves to watch TV...IF animals are involved. He loves the animal planet, all commercials that feature animals, and his favorite movie, as mine was growing up, is THE WIZARD OF OZ.The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American children's musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs were written by E.Y. Harburg, the music by Harold Arlen. Incidental music, based largely on the songs, was by Herbert Stothart, with borowings from classical composers.Based on the 1900 fairytale novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum,the film stars Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charles Grapewin, Clara Blandick and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.
He watches, checks his food bowl, and brings a "snack" in to watch it in front of the TV. Take a look: WARNING: You may want to turn down your volume: The strange thing is that it includes animated animals as well!

Here are some of Horace's favorites!


Here he is watching Max in How The Grinch Stole Christmas!


And Snoopy!


And BABE:Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog. The main animal characters are played by a combination of real and animatronic pigs and Border Collies.Babe was filmed in Robertson, New South Wales, Australia.The talking-animal visual effects were done by Rhythm & Hues Studios. Although the setting and style of the film are distinctly British/Australasian pastoral, many of the human speaking parts were overdubbed from Australian to American accents for popular acceptance in the American film market.



LASSIE COME HOME:Lassie Come Home is a 1943 MGM film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor, Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie.The film was directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a screenplay by Hugo Butler based upon the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight. The film was the first in a series of seven MGM films starring "Lassie."
The original film saw a sequel, Son of Lassie in 1945 with five other films following at intervals through the 1940s. A British remake of the 1943 movie was released in 2005 as Lassie to moderate success. The original film and its sequels continue to air on television and have been released to VHS and DVD.



The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Individually, a Muppet is made by Jim Henson or his company's workshop. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark linked to the characters created by Henson.

RUDOLPH:Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose.
He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through inclement winter weather.Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been adapted in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special, and a feature film. Character Arts, LLC manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. Although the story and song are not public domain, Rudolph has become a figure of Christmas folklore.
Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. May considered naming the reindeer "Rollo" and "Reginald" before deciding upon using the name "Rudolph".In its first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward. The story is written as a poem in the meter of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is loved by millions and still selling copies. Publication and reprint rights for the book "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" are controlled by Pearson Plc.

THE Westminster Dog Show:In 1877, New York was well on its way to becoming the world's greatest city. This was the year that a group of sporting gentlemen decided that this would be a good time to hold a dog show in Manhattan. It didn't take long before the Westminster Kennel Club, following the lead of its home town, would be on its way to becoming the world's greatest dog show.

We love our baby and we're looking forward to the next six years!


The Yorkshire terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the historical area of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its small size, less than 3.2 kilograms (7.1 lb), and its silky blue and tan coat. The breed is nicknamed Yorkie and is placed in the Toy Terrier section of the Terrier Group by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and in the Toy Group or Companion Group by other kennel clubs, although all agree that the breed is a terrier. A popular companion dog, the Yorkshire terrier has also been part of the development of other breeds, such as the Australian Silky Terrier.
Here is Horace sleeping with his favorite toy:



At our back gate:



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