1st - Solid Subclass
Honey Bear, of I Love My Gerbils, owned by Pam Thompson, Yorkville, Illinois Very good curl in the whiskers, face, and underparts. Curl along the main body is harder to make out, but fur does look nice and plush. Tail has the desired bristly look; not quite the "pipe cleaner" type, but getting there. She has a good feminine body type, nicely shaped head and very pretty almond eye. Her top color is very nice, but a lot of color carries down onto her feet, and belly isn't bright white. Thick straight tail with good tuft. |
2nd - Provisional AOC
Acorn, of Black Wolf Gerbils, owned by Jo Kelley, Colorado This young male is a Dilute Agouti and still qualifies as a Pup, so was judged as such. While he's far from his adult bulk, he is nicely developed for his age, his body solid and not rangy. His whiskers look decently curled, but the photos are small and I can barely make them out. He seems to have good curl through the head, underparts, and main body. The base of his tail is a bit too smooth, but the last half bristles nicely. His color is a nice golden fawn, but he has odd silvering over his body (possibly one of the stranger effects of Dilute), which also makes his white collar very indistinct. |
3rd -Provisional AOC
Nyctalope du Mérione Merveilleux, of Le Mérione Merveilleux, owned by Fanny van Rysselberghe, Cartelègue, France This little girl is very clean, well prepared for show, and well photographed. The has a well-developed body type for a pup, nice head, almond eye, thick straight tail with great tuft. Conformationally, she's gorgeous. Unfortunately, gerbils with white markings covering over 75% of the body may not be shown in the US. We do not want to encourage the breeding of High White animals, which often have health issues linked to the extensive white markings. As this is not explicitly stated in the Patched standard, it was judged as a fault rather than a disqualification. She does have a nice big, bold Patch on her flank. Her color is very bright, almost orange-- one of the possible outcomes of Dilute Agouti, but not the more pastel shade we have standardized. |
1st - Provisional AOC
Pipi boy du Mérione Merveilleux, of Le Mérione Merveilleux, owned by Fanny van Rysselberghe, Cartelègue, France Curls all over on this senior male! His entire coat looks plush and springy, down to the curly whiskers and pipe-cleaner tail. He's showing his age, with a bendy tail and porphyrin staining around one eye. He's lost some muscle mass in the shoulders, but overall still a pretty good masculine body type. The spotting has really faded out his body color, as sometimes happens with Blue, but the Provisional class is to evaluate new standards (in this case Rex), so his color is less important. |
3rd - Solid Subclass
In the Mist, of ABC Gerbils, owned by Donna Anastasi, Hiram, Maine Her whiskers are curled at the very front, but the majority are straight. Great curl on the body and underparts, very visible. Tail is too sleek though, only bristling at the tuft. She seems on the small side, with a bit of a neck dip. Color is nice, except that she is entirely lacking front paw points. Pretty almond eye. |
Best Opposite Sex - Solid Subclass
Ready or Not, of ABC Gerbils, owned by Donna Anastasi, Hiram, Maine It's a shame his pictures are so blurry. I can't see his whiskers at all, but it's a mark of how well the Schimmel color showcases Rex that I *can* make out quite a bit of body curl, by virtue of the peach undercoat showing through the lighter tips. Tail looks very bristly, with a great tuft. Good broad head but eye is a bit narrow. Nice male body type; could perhaps use a little more muscle in the shoulders, but the amount of orange left in his body fur shows he's on the younger side. Great coloring, with intense orange on the face, tail, and paws, though his body hasn't gone fully white yet. |
2nd - Solid Subclass
RooBee, of ABC Gerbils, owned by Donna Anastasi, Hiram, Maine Most of her whiskers are straight, but she has a lot of head and body curl. The dark ticking on light underfur shows the curl very well. I would like to see her coat a bit darker for Silver Nutmeg, but she has awesome dark front paws with zero stray white. She has a slight neck dip, and her eye is quite round. Tail is thick and straight with decent tuft, but seems short compared to body. Nice bristly fur on the tail. |