Arthur
was bred by Roy Beal (Basjambe Kennels) and after seeing him at a show
I just had to have him.
I pestered Roy until he gave in and sold him to us.
He was a lovely red and white dog, beautiful head, lots of bone and
substance and a wonderful temperament.
He acquitted himself very well in the show ring and was a multi
in-group winner.
He had one particular vice though...whenever anyone else but me
tried to show him, he would turn his front feet under himself and
refuse to stand or walk...we called this "Doing his dead
act".
Arthur
was always in there with a good chance when we had a Judge that liked a
big red and white Basset Hound.
He always did well at Basset Specialties. Unfortunately we had
to retire him at 4 1/2 years of age after he got a neck injury and other
than to go to the vet we never put a lead on him again. We were lucky that with careful management he lived a full life till
he was 12 years old.
Arthur's main claim to fame was not in the show ring but in the
promoting of the breed in the media.
He
was a wonderful ambassador for the breed and he did 5 TV
advertisements and lots of other advertising work and was Mr.Hush for
Hush Puppies, he even went to Parliament House to meet the Premier, Mr.
John Cain.
Back
in August 1986 Channel 10 in conjunction with the Basset Hound Club of
Victoria ran a competition to find "Mr Hush". This competition
was advertised in the press and on TV asking owners of Basset Hounds to
participate.
The judges were from Channel 10 and Hush Puppies...100 Bassets turned
up in all shapes and sizes...what a sight to see.
Arthur was chosen as "Mr Hush".
He
then became part of a major publicity campaign promoting the annual
Deafness Telethon called "Sounds of Silence".
He was featured on 10,000 posters throughout Victoria and attended
all functions for the appeal and appeared on National TV in prime time
He was easy to work with because he loved everybody.
This is not to say that he didn't ever have his moments, like when he
was a baby and he ate the arm off our lounge chair when we were out or
the time he pulled the drapes clean off the window and bent the curtain
rod in the effort or when he decided to do some renovations to the
living room carpet and pulled it up and then ate the indoor plants.
We quickly learnt not to leave the pantry door open...that was after
the time he got the Rice Bubbles out and spread them all over the family
room floor
He was a character, a real Hound, he was adorable and we miss him!
This little
boy, who had never actually touched a dog, was terrified of them before
he met Arthur...but after five minutes of being with him he was totally
won over, Arthur was just that sort of dog.
The shield has an inscription which reads:
"Mr.
Hush"
1986
Channel 10 Deafness Foundation of Victoria Telethon Mascot
Proudly sponsored by Hush Puppies
Arthur
was bred by Roy Beal (Basjambe Kennels) and after seeing him at a show
I just had to have him.
Arthur
was always in there with a good chance when we had a Judge that liked a
big red and white Basset Hound.
Back
in August 1986 Channel 10 in conjunction with the Basset Hound Club of
Victoria ran a competition to find "Mr Hush". This competition
was advertised in the press and on TV asking owners of Basset Hounds to
participate.
He
then became part of a major publicity campaign promoting the annual
Deafness Telethon called "Sounds of Silence".
This little
boy, who had never actually touched a dog, was terrified of them before
he met Arthur...but after five minutes of being with him he was totally
won over, Arthur was just that sort of dog.
