A Circle of Friends
A Circle of Friends
By Joan Harrigan
L to R: Sara Fischer, Sergei Betekhtin, Colleen Boyle, Marie White, and Pauline Coe
Monday night at Westminster, a stunning Borzoi, Ch. Belisarius JP My Sassy Girl won the breed and went on to win the Hound Group. After the breed judging, “Lucy’s” entourage weren’t the only ones celebrating in the benching area. An impromptu reception was held for littermates Levi and Stevie who were awarded Select Dog and Select Bitch by judge Mrs. Barbara C. Pepper.
Ch. Roscommon Five O’One Blues aka Levi and Ch. Roscommon Landslide aka Stevie are bred and owned by Colleen Boyle and Pauline Coe of Stephentown, N.Y. Boyle and Coe discovered the breed in 1997 when a friend, Marie White of Beckett, Mass. showed Boyle a picture of her own Borzoi. Boyle then informed Coe that they were getting “one”, and they acquired two littermates. Today, there are 15 back at home at their Roscommon Kennels, seven of whom are house dogs.
White has come to Westminster to cheer them on, as have Sergei Betekhtin and his wife, Sara Fischer, of New York City. The couple have two Roscommon Borzoi who occupy their apartment with their son and a cat—proving that Borzoi can be good city dogs, and that with training they can accept cats as housemates. “Our puppy buyers all become family,” Coe says. Betekhtin and Fischer quickly agree, saying “there’s nothing like a Roscommon Borzoi—the puppies show up at their new homes with manners!”
The group has arrayed hors d’oeuvre and little cakes on a table, and there’s a bottle of good chardonnay for toasting. “We knew we’d either be crying in our wine or celebrating,” the pair say with a laugh. They do quite a lot of winning—Stevie is currently the number one owner/handled Borzoi, and Roscommon Borzoi have brought home at least one ribbon from each of their four trips to Westminster, and they’ve finished a class dog here on a prior trip.
The five friends represent a natural progression—from introduction to a breed by a friend, to a pair of puppies who spark a passion for breeding and showing, to pet buyers who become friends and are introduced to the show world. As for Stevie and Levi—they would prefer to nap in their crates, but obligingly pose for a picture—after a sideways glance at the cakes!
L to r: Pauline Coe with Levi and Colleen Boyle with Stevie
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