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International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day for celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

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My mom's achievements in all of the above-mentioned fields are far too numerous to mention in a short blurb. She was a woman ahead of her time and a woman of great strength. She was also brave enough to have another baby (me) after her first two children were grown adults out on their own. Besides having her own successful career, a woman can also nurture and raise successful children. My mom did it twice. She also taught her girls that the sexes are equal and that a women can do anything that a man can.

Me? Well, we'll only talk about the above photo. The scene is the AKC 100th Anniversary Show. At the time, it was a really big deal...

The Chihuahua in my lap (bred, whelped, raised, trained, handled, owned and loved by me) made AKC history on that day by winning top honors in Obedience at the once-in-a-lifetime Centennial AKC show. That put us both into "history books." Although I credit the dog for being special, he needed me to get him to this point. It was his very first show. The girl Chihuahua in my mom's lap, (also bred, whelped, raised, trained, handled, owned and loved by me) made dog show history in her own right by being the first Chihuahua Champion Chihuahua to ever win an AKC All-Breed High in Trial. To this day, her two nephews (both bred, whelped, raised, trained, handled, owned and loved by me) are the ONLY other Chihuahuas in history to do the same.

This may not impress a lot of people with other interests, but it does have cultural significance. The above photo is a reminder that I have done some things in this genre that no man nor other woman ever has. Others have repeatedly tried: both before and after me. Of course, my contributions to the world in general do go far beyond dog show (social, cultural or whatever one wishes to call them) achievements.

For those unfamiliar with it, the legitimate "Dog Show world" is a society in itself with strong international connections. To "toot-my-own-horn", my breeding program and many successes in the show rings earned me international acclaim. I have been featured in both books and magazine articles around the globe. Even more importantly, I felt great satisfaction and fulfillment from my many successes and friendships while an active part of the dog show culture. However, these days I have both stopped breeding and showing (by choice) and have contently settled down to being a mentor to others. My desire now is to have others carry on breeding beautiful dogs that are healthy (plus sound of both mind and body); just as I did when I was actively breeding and showing Chihuahuas.

My love for my Breed of Chihuahuas also will forever be a part of me. I know that I (as a woman) did my part to contribute to the betterment of the Breed. That fact goes far beyond any dog show win.