FIRST AKC CHAMPION RED STANDARD POODLE
Ch Majestic Red Rogan
November 23, 1995 - December 5, 2008
Owned by Arthur and Drusilla Flowers
Written by Drusilla Flowers
Written by Drusilla Flowers
| Poodles have always been part of our family. We
loved our apricot standards and our two browns but were not
involved with dog shows, only some obedience work to have fun
with our dogs. In 1995 Arthur and I saw our first photo of a red
standard poodle. Never had we seen this amazing red color! We
quickly bought a puppy from Majestic Poodles with the naive
ambition of showing him. His name was Rogan, which is an old
English name for “red haired”. Our new pup came with gorgeous
red hair and a natural show attitude, striking, confident and
bold. We had begun an adventure of a lifetime! Our understanding of dog shows was almost nothing. Brave and determined we took Rogan to handling class when he was 3 months old. We did research, bought grooming supplies, show leads, and a big crate. We found a local groomer through our handling class who new how to do a show puppy clip. With all this help we were off to our first show at the Wheaton Kennel Club (IL) on June 8, 1996. Rogan was just 6 months old and handled by me with Arthur as the support person. On that day Rogan won Reserve Winner, and we thought that was wonderful! On August 10, 1996, at the Cudahy Kennel Club (WI) the unbelievable happened. Rogan was 7 1/2 months old. Judge Paula J. Bradley chose Rogan for Winners Dog, Best of Variety and Best of Winners! Rogan and I found ourselves in the Non-Sporting Group ring without a clue about what to do. We did not place but Arthur and I were on cloud nine! Word got out that there was a red standard being shown in northern Illinois and reached the ears of breeder/handler Sharon Calbrecht from Wisconsin. We met Sharon and although she was of the opinion that he would not win becouse of his color she agreed to handle Rogan. She told us to go to Springfield, IL, for the Illinois Capital Kennel Club show. On October 20, 1996, I groomed Rogan as best I knew how in the grooming area and waited for Sharon to take Rogan into the ring. The judge was Mrs. Eleanor Rotman. Rogan’s grooming wasn't great but he was spirited and his attitude was awesome. We did not know what was happening in that ring that day, but when it was over our 10 month old puppy had won Open 1st, Winners, and Best of Winners for a 5 point major! Sharon said, "well, we can't stop showing now!" and quickly scissored Rogan up for his winning picture. No words can describe the feeling of joy and pride that we had for our much loved Rogan. By this time Arthur and I had joined the Great Lakes Poodle Club of Chicago. We met Audrey Kelly who became instrumental in our education about red and apricot poodles. Audrey handled Rogan for us also, and helped explain grooming and showing basics, as well as which judges preferred apricots and reds. Upon Audrey’s advice we entered Rogan at PCA and there we met members of ARPC and joined the club. Terry Farley took us under his wing at PCA and showed us there were other red and apricot people just like us. Arthur and I were now seriously focused on finishing Rogan. When Sharon Calbrecht could no longer help us we were tremendously grateful to Carol Cargle, also a member of GLPC, who agreed to show Rogan for us. Under judge Beverly K. Lehnig, Carol handled Rogan through his second major. Carol now took responsibility of Rogan’s grooming also. She taught me the fine points of grooming and bathing and brushing. Many hours at many shows were spent working hard setting up equipment, brushing and preparing dogs, holding dogs at ringside, breaking dogs down, taking down grooming setups and lots of traveling. Dedication, financial expenses, exercising Rogan, brushing and bathing at home all became a fact of life. All the while Rogan became the most important focus of our dog life. He was intelligent, stubborn, and deeply bonded to me. He never let me out of his sight. He was a commanding guard dog too. Cocky at the shows, he thought he could take on any dog there, especially disliking the Malamutes! At home, his favorite games were fetching a tennis ball or frisbee. He was tireless and soon the ball would be too slobbered to throw. Rogan was always ready to give his famous "Rogan hug" greeting when Arthur or I returned home from work or shopping. It was like hugging a person but felt like a fluffy mass of hair, neatly banded in colorful rubber bands all down his neck. He smelled like Magic Touch. That was our boy! Rogan finished on September 27, 1998 at Greater Freeport Illinois Kennel Club under judge Neoma Eberhardt handled by Carol Cargle. Arthur and I were not able to watch closly in case we distracted Rogan when he was in the ring. When we finally went to the ringside Audrey, who was at the show too said to us, “Do you know what just happened?” Our tears flowing over, we knew. What we did not realize then was the fact that we had made a milestone in apricot and red poodle history: The First Red Champion Standard Poodle! | ||
 Rogan at 8 weeks old |
 Rogan at 9 weeks old |
 Rogan at 4 1/2 months old |
 Rogan at 7 1/2 months old Cudehy Kennel Club Racine, Wisconsin |
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 Rogan, Audrey Kelly and Arthur Flowers Mar 29th 1997 Chicago Sun Times International Kennel Club in Chicago |
 Audrey Kelly handling Rogan |
 First AKC Red Champion |
 Rogan in Show Coat |
| Rogan 12 years old November 2008  | ||
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