Shirley Thomas – One for the Ages

by Amy Fernandez

The dog world lost another true individualist on March 30. Outspoken and gritty, Shirley Thomas was best known for her contribution to Toy breeds. But her daughter Gail Thomas emphasizes her mother’s extensive experience in many breeds.  “Mom really knew dogs. My grandfather and uncle were involved in so many breeds. Mom grew up breeding and showing, and it was a big part of my childhood.”

The middle child of a large family, Shirley Beatrice Meshirer was born November 25, 1927 and grew up in Flushing, Queens where her grandfather William (Max) owned half block parcel of land at the intersection of Northern Blvd. and Main Street. Formally dubbed Queens Dahlia Gardens for his prize-winning dahlias, it was also the site of family-run Arrow Distributing Co., a large pet supply company, and Dahlia Crest kennels, best known for its Boxers.

Back then Flushing was a far cry from the intensively developed commercial and residential neighborhood of today.  With less than 150,000 inhabitants in 1900, much of Queens was covered by farmland and open terrain before the arrival of trains and subway service. Farms slowly gave way to village lots, but Flushing didn’t begin evolving into a densely populated residential area until after World War II.

Although it was minutes from Manhattan, Shirley grew up in the country with a menagerie of pets. She loved animals, but also loved sports, ultimately carving out a very successful career as a professional skater. “She was excellent,” says Gail, noting that her mother skated for the 1944 Betty Grable movie Pin Up Girl. She was a member of the Skating Vanities, an internationally popular roller staking revue during the 1940s. This musical extravaganza promoted its “pretty girls on wheels.” They wore glitzy costumes and performed intricate routines in the style of ice skating revues… with the additional technical challenge of the cumbersome roller skates of the era. Top quality professional skates had four wooden wheels anchored to a metal plate attached to a leather boot. It wasn’t easy. Gail explains that a freak accident left her mother in a coma for six months. “She was coming down a ramp when a bobby pin jammed in her skate wheel. She flew off the stage and broke her jaw.”

That ended her career as a professional skater but while on tour she had met Rayne Thomas. “Uncle Al introduced them. They married on Valentines Day 1946. Shirley devoted the next years to raising three children. Gail recalls her mother at her best during holidays. “That lady could cook. For Christmas and New Years she prepared huge, unbelievable banquets.”

Shirley’s childhood love for dogs had been on the backburner, but when she decided it was time she returned to this endeavor with the energy and resolve that we came to know so well.  Gail recalls that her uncle Al added some Poodles to the kennel in the late 1950s. “She was addicted when she got the Poodles. She would sit there for hours grooming them and was off to shows almost every weekend.”

Shirley also bred and showed Labradors. “When I was a teenager she got involved with Pugs. She went to England to get her first one.” Subsequently, Shirley and her brother Al founded the Pug Dog Club of Greater New York. She also served as president of Progressive Dog Club and Queensboro Kennel Club for many years. Shirley could be intimidating, and she ran these clubs with an iron fist. But her contributions were undeniable. She built up their treasuries, attracted members, and expanded the shows.

Shirley began judging in the mid-1960s and was eventually approved for all Toys, half the Sporting Group and several Non-Sporting breeds. In 1990 she authored The New Pug. “When she wrote that book it raised eyebrows,” says Gail. “But she wanted to be totally honest about the breed. She could be very blunt and direct. If she didn’t like something you knew it. But you always knew exactly where she was coming from.”

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Posted by Tom on Apr 8 2013. 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.