What is A Title?

What Is A Title?
by Sandy Mowery, Wisconsin

Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not
just an adjunct to competitive scores. A Title is a tribute to the
dog that bears it, a way to honor that dog, an ultimate memorial. It
will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as
anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or
better in that regard, and though the dog himself doesn't know or
care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things
in the world of humans, where such things count.

A Title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good
natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that
please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed. And a Title
says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with him
because he was a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to
give him yet another chance when he failed, and that in the end your
faith was justified.

A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special
relationship enjoyed by so few, that in the world of disposable
creatures, this dog with a Title was greatly loved, and loved greatly
in return. And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains
as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a
deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials
before or after the name.

A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received,
permanently recorded.