Looking Around with Lee

By Lee Canalizo

In these turbulent political times we hear so much about immigration…the pros and cons. Political figures shouting from the rooftops on the evils or benefits of welcoming people from foreign lands to our shores. I will not delve into the ramifications of the big picture for the United States, but I am going to state my own experience with the subject in the area I’m familiar with… our own dog show world.

We can be proud of the many generations of people raised in the dog world that continued in the sport. Lots of them were kids of hobby breeders who juggled a family and dog shows (that would be me!). There were also the professionals that might not have had a built-in workforce and always had a string of assistants moving through a revolving door of sorts. Many years ago, in the Poodle ring, we judges encountered a new handler, a somewhat exotic, attractive, very talented young man, who, by his very appearance, showed us he was not your average, local dog show handler’s assistant. He was polite. He presented his exhibits to perfection and in the event of being awarded a ribbon, gave the judge a lovely, formal bow! In a short period of time we came to know that Kaz Hozaka was discovered by Anne and Jim Clark on a judging trip to Japan. They recognized the talent he possessed and paved the way for him to come to the United States. These many years later, the same young man is an important figure within the Poodle breed. A valued, hard working successful person, Kaz is looked up to by all who know him.

Meanwhile in the terrier world, a young apprentice was being groomed by Peter Green. A tall, dark-haired young fellow from Mexico who could whip those Terriers into shape like nobody’s business! Well, we all know now that Ernesto Lara has become very prominent in the Terrier world, and rightfully so. He is an expert in a very demanding arena!

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Posted by Alex on Jul 23 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.