Friends talked me into going to National Capital. It was my first trip to"Nasty Cap" and I was scared to death. I honestly thought people were wondering who the heck I thought I was and I expected to fall flat on my face. Then I pulled Dancer out of her carrier and she turned and looked at me giving me her guaranteed to produce goose bumps “I own the world” look. I knew it would be all right. Seven out of eight finals including three allbreed Best Cat wins, Best Shorthair in Show and 2nd Best Cat in Show to the future Cat of the Year were more than “all right."

Judge Larry Adkison remarjed during his final, "She gives me chills." I cried all the way home.

I had never aspired to a national win as I had always felt that such a win would be well beyond my energy and resources. Now there could be no turning back.

I made the decision to show her as best I could. Initially nicknamed "The Impossible Dream," the campaign soon became known as "With a Little Help From My Friends." I could never have achieved my goal without the overwhelming support I received from friends, fellow breeders and judges.

I will always be grateful to each and every person who helped in any way, large or small. The warmth and generosity touched my heart and reaffirmed my feelings about what is good in the cat fancy.

Dancer did extremely well with fairly limited showing. She was shown an average of twice a month and we drove to all but one of her shows. She was Best in Show ten times and Best Cat in 59 rings.

Indeed, virtually every Siamese breeder judge who handled her gave her Best Cat at one time or another.

She picked up points steadily and by March I knew she had enough points to stay in the national standings. We were then able to slow the pace and even attended a couple of smaller shows for fun.

I always had it in the back of my mind that if she started having frequent heats she would be pulled and bred, no matter what her standing.

Fortunately, Dancer cooperated and only cycled three times during the entire show season.

Dancer is a regal and elegant cat, with captivating deep blue eyes, a dramatic wedge and superb color contrast.

Like her mother, Dancer defied the norm for Siamese and continued to improve with age. At eight months she was black and white and although she did eventually develop a bit of shading as she got older, it was very subtle.

In the show hall she would jump down from the grooming table and root around in the show bag looking for her treats. She was always a princess and it did not take her long to decide that she was above juvenile feather antics on the judging table (much to the frustration of some judges). It was an emotional roller coaster of a year, but the memories will last a lifetime.