Tales from the Piers
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Westminster 2015
by Susan Beegel and Joan Harrigan
Photographs by Lisa Croft Ellitott and 
MONDAY:
From Toys to Herding Dogs
“Blizzard warning! Prepare to end travel!” Flashing orange highway signs spurred drivers from the Midwest and Northeast racing to stay ahead of Winter Storm Neptune on their way to New York City. “Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled.” Airport departure boards all around the country lit up as Winter Storm Octavia, sweeping from the West across the South, added her efforts to Neptune’s. Westminster’s mid-February dates make snow, ice, wind, sub-zero temperatures, and travel challenges part of the show’s grand tradition. Veterans are as adept at rescheduling winter travel as they are at showing dogs. Westminster has never been for the faint of heart.
In the wake of the storms, clear skies and bone-cracking cold greet dogs and handlers on Monday morning as showing begins at the Piers. Even Simon Tien Hansen, a young breeder/owner/handler of Pharaoh Hounds from Oslo, Norway, is impressed. “My American friends warned me it would be cold in New York,” he says. “I thought—what do Americans know about cold? It will be like Norwegian summer. But it is cold! Now I have to buy a coat.” Hansen is happy to be at Westminster nonetheless. “There’s not enough competition, not enough quality in Norway,” he says. “I’d much rather spend my money on traveling to the big iconic dog shows. No guts, no glory!”
There’s glory for Hansen today, as his Pharaoh Hound, Bazinga A Storm of Swords, appropriately called Stormy, comes from the classes to win Best of Opposite Sex. Hansen describes Stormy as “a hippy of the dog world. He gives kisses, he’s goofy, he plays in the ring and enjoys himself.” Stormy has his coursing instinct intact and needs to be dissuaded from chasing moose in the snowy woods near Hansen’s home. “It’s important to have a good recall,” says Hansen dryly. He is also thrilled that another dog of his breeding, Stormy’s litter sister, GCh. Bazinga A Dream of Spring for Mia, has taken Best of Breed for her owners, Pam Haig and Robert Newman of Corryton, Tennessee.
Hansen is not the only one seeking glory at Westminster. The show has drawn 2,700 dogs from 192 breeds and varieties, all with owners, breeders, and handlers full of ambition for their canine charges, whether they are Platinum Grand Champions or Cinderella dogs from the classes. The purple-and-gold benches and breed rings at Piers 92 and 94 are bursting with their stories. Walking the aisles like the thousands of spectators who will visit the Piers over the course of two days, we can only sample a few to represent the whole.
Binna, a Norwegian Buhund, is performing tricks for her young owner/handler, Amie McLaughlin from Seattle, Washington. As Binna rolls over, plays dead, and sits pretty, McLaughlin explains that the little wheaten dog with a black mask is the first of her recently recognized breed to have won a Best in Show. Three-year-old GCh. Jotunn Bella Binna has two of them, along with nine Group Ones. The Top Norwegian Buhund for 2014, she stands on her hind legs to give McLaughlin a high five. Originally bred by the Vikings to herd and guard sheep, the Buhund has striking black eyebrows designed to persuade the sheep that the dog is always watching. Binna lives with two other dogs—a rescue Corgi and a shepherd mix—as well as a cat she’s afraid of, and accompanies McLaughlin on hiking trips in the Pacific Northwest. The pair have weathered a cancelled flight to be at Westminster today, but a Best of Breed win has made it all worthwhile. McLaughlin co-owns Binna with her breeders, Vali Eberhardt and John Bradstreet of Sammamish, Washington.
Hunters Come in All Sizes…and Tails of Mystery
With his bushy eyebrows, mustache, rough coat, and constantly wagging tail, the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen standing on a grooming table is a one-dog charm offensive. “There’s just something about him,” says owner Shelley Barclay about GCh. Tetu’s Mister Homer, “he has the happiest, most outgoing personality.” Bred by David and Rebecca Claude of Wills Point, Texas, 3-year-old Homer is an “only dog” who lives with Barclay and co-owner Mona Styles in Manhattan’s West Village, where he plays ball and chases squirrels and birds in the park. Over the past two years, Homer has been shown sparingly, ringsided by handler Barbara Waldkirch. Nevertheless, he has managed to finish Number 13 in his breed for 2014. “PBGVs also make great agility dogs,” says Barclay, pointing out the essential athleticism of this small, well-muscled hound bred to hunt hare, rabbit, roe deer, and boar in the Vendée region of France. She and Styles co-owned PBGV Hall of Famer MACH Pepperhills Queen Flora Kate CGC (1995-2009), who in 2007 became the first of her breed to become a Master Agility Champion. Homer, Barclay says, is just getting started in the sport.
Adam, a Toy Manchester Terrier, is surveying the benching-area bustle of his first Westminster from the warmth and safety of Mike Texter’s lap. With the erect cropped ears of a tiny Doberman, the sleek little black-and-tan dog exemplifies the origins of his breed, when a 19th century fancier named John Hulme crossed a celebrated rat-catching terrier with a whippet to create a dog ideal for both killing rats and coursing rabbits. Almost two years old, Adam, GCh. Bayside’s Beginning, will be shown today by Mike Texter’s wife, Dianna Texter, who bred him with Karen Cornell. The competition includes his 3-year-old half-sister Cody, GCh. Baysides Cody Joy, also bred by Dianna. Texter describes Adam as “a loving, mellow, laidback companion dog.” At the Texters’ home in San Francisco, California, Adam, Cody, and two other Toy Manchesters sleep under the covers, down around Mike’s feet. But when the pear tree in the yard drops its fruit, Texter says, their ratting heritage comes to the fore, and “we have to pick up the dead rats in the yard.” Today, though, the Texters will be picking up ribbons, as Adam wins Select and Cody an Award of Merit.
Handler Sherri Hurst of Houston, Texas is putting the finishing touches on her 6½-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi charge, a handsome dark brindle-and-white bitch named Libby, GCh. Aubrey’s Tails of Mystery. Bred by Shawn Michael of Union Bridge, Maryland and co-owners Vince and Cynthia Savioli of Cedar Knoll, New Jersey, Libby finished 2013 as the Number 1 Cardigan, Number 2 Herding dog, and Number 18 all-breeds. But in 2014, the dog world watched as another spectacular Cardigan Welsh Corgi bitch, 6-year-old GCh. Riverside Telltail Coco Posh, made Westminster history, becoming the first of her breed to win the Herding Group at the Garden. This year, Hurst and Libby are both palpably excited to be together again and headed for the show ring once more. “She loves me,” says Hurst, “we’ve traveled together from coast to coast.” The feeling is clearly mutual. Hurst tears up when she says that Libby will be retiring after Westminster. But in the meantime, there’s a Best of Breed ribbon to win under Judge Robert H. Slay, and a chance to show under the lights of the Garden that night.
Working the Crowd in the Benching Area
Not yet 12 months old, the seal-and-white Italian Greyhound pup known as Cal, Ch. Infiniti Holding Kryptonite, is a rising star. And just like a star in his dressing room, Cal is casually attired for the somewhat chilly benching area in what looks like turquoise fleece lounging pajamas. He stands on top of his crate for the best view of his surroundings while his breeder/owner/handler, Kimberly Frennier of Blue Ridge, Georgia, works around him. Cal, she says, “is the best dog in the world,” the result of a breeding “a long time in the making.” Italian Greyhounds, according to Frennier, are “a devoted, loving breed,” but they “don’t like wind, cold, and rain—which can make them hard to housetrain.” They’re also “cat-like” and “will walk around on the dining room table.” Perhaps hoping to channel that skill, Frennier is starting Cal in agility. The elegant dog also loves to play Frisbee, hike in the mountains, and sleep under the covers with Frennier, her husband Randy, and their pack. And apparently, he loves to show. Later in the day, the pup will capture Best of Breed from an entry including two of 2014’s Top 10 Italian Greyhounds.
Jean Gauchat-Hargis got her first Keeshond when she was 8 years old and has been in the breed for 30 years. But 5-year-old Cubit, the Keeshond she’s preparing for the Westminster ring today, is “very special,” she says, “the dog of a lifetime.” Cubit, aka GCh. Skyline’s Unit of Measure, gets his call name from the Biblical unit of measure corresponding to 18 inches, the ideal height for a male Keeshond. Eighteen seems to be his lucky number—Cubit won his National Specialty at 18 months. In 2014, he was the top Keeshond and Number 3 Non-Sporting Dog. Lying on his side on the grooming table while Gauchat-Hargis works on his magnificent silver, cream, and black coat, Cubit grins and waves his paws happily at a charmed bystander. Later in the day, Judge James G. Reynolds will recognize Cubit’s charisma by awarding him Best of Breed. Cubit was bred by Kristen Cullen, DVM and her mother Susan Cullen, of Sacramento, California, who co-own him with handler Gauchat-Hargis and her husband Joshua of Orangevale, California.
Kipper, Fenway’s Yippie Kippie Ki-Yay CGCA, CAA, was the lone Dalmatian in the classes at Westminster this year. “He’s singled out,” says breeder/owner/handler Carollyn Carson from Eatontown, New Jersey, “and needs one more major for his championship.” Just now the 2 year-old dog is out on the floor in the benching area doing what he loves best, enthusiastically working the crowds. Children pet him, adults pose for pictures with the handsome Dalmatian, and Kipper greets each person who walks by. “He doesn’t want to stay in his crate,” Carson says, “He thinks everyone is here to see him.” Co-owned and co-bred by Carson with Elizabeth Shakalis and Greg and Linda Gerzanics of Waterford, Michigan, Kipper is the first-born pup from Carson’s first litter. A versatile dog, well-used to the spotlight, he’s been a model for Rocket Fuel and for Harper’s Bazaar Latin America. Kipper holds lure coursing titles and will soon make his debut in competition agility. Most importantly, he is a therapy dog who “loves to visit elementary schools,” in Carson’s words, where Kipper helps to teach “fire safety and dog bite prevention.” Carson makes sure that each child who meets Kipper today leaves Westminster knowing the right way to say hello to a dog.
Old English Sheepdog Kendall, GCh. Lambluv’s Superstar, stands patiently while Encie Gage of Norwalk, Connecticut, swathed in a grooming apron, vigorously brushes his massive cloud of white and gray fur. Getting an Old English ready for Westminster is “lots of work,” says Gage. “It takes all day to give him a bath,” she says, “and I’ve been grooming him every day for a week.” She co-owns Kendall with breeder Jere Marder of Chicago, Illinois, whose Lambluv lines have twice captured the Herding Group at Westminster, among many other honors. Kendall, says Gage, is a “fantastic, very affectionate dog” who “is part of the family. He loves to play ball, chew on rope toys, chase, play hide-and-seek, and romp with his half-brother.” Later today he will take an Award of Merit in a hotly competitive breed ring featuring America’s Number 1 Herding Dog, Swagger, who takes Best of Breed.
But at the moment, Sandy Woodard, a sheepdog breeder from Stamford, Connecticut, is more interested in the dog hair left over from Kendall’s brushing. “What do you think will happen to all that fluff when she’s done grooming?” he asks, fingering his handsome gray and white tweed scarf, which has the lightness, warmth, and consistency of mohair. Woodward collects Old English Sheepdog fur, combines it with wool, and painstakingly spins it into yarn. “It takes about one double-header NFL game to make a skein,” he says. His wife, Kay, then turns the sheepdog yarn into scarves and afghans. They often donate their work for breed club prizes and auctions. Just now, they are working on Swagger scarves for the legendary sheepdog’s breedes/owners/handlers, Colton and Heather Johnson.
It’s one way to keep warm at Westminster.
Tuesday…More Snow
Three inches or so of overnight snow make for a slippery, slushy Tuesday morning, and some minor traffic delays for the buses carrying people and dogs from the hotels to the Piers. GCh. Avalon Bey’s Are The Stars Out Tonight, a 4-year-old black Newfoundland bitch called Zeva, ought to be right at home in cold and snowy New York. But Zeva is a Southern girl, bred by Laura Rader of Vale, North Carolina and co-owned by Rader with Belle Ann and Larry Bohannon of Cartersville, Georgia. The Number 12 Newf for 2014, with two Group Ones, Zeva is “in it for the cookies,” says her handler, Wendi Brown. “Judges love her for her beautiful, floating motion and huge stride,” Brown says. Zeva “flies from the show ring straight back to her table for treats.” Chik-Fil-A is her favorite. Belle Ann Bohannon’s love of antiques and artist Edwin Henry Landseer first led her to the Newfoundland breed, popular in Victorian art. Today she has four Newfs, who “run and jump and play together,” with Zeva “stealing everyone’s toys.” It’s been “very competitive” at Westminster today, says Bohannon philosophically. “It’s always difficult for bitches to win in the coated breeds—males are showier,” in her opinion. What would she like the world to know about Newfoundlands? “They don’t slobber 24/7,” she says emphatically, “and I think everybody should have one!”
Bev Blanchard works at Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, Michigan, teaches at Camp Gone to the Dogs in Marlboro, Vermont, and is a long-time judge for the World Canine Freestyle Organization. Above all, she prizes versatility in a dog, and has found it in her almost 3-year-old German Wirehaired Pointer, GCh. Reece Afterhours Periwinkle RN, RATN, CGC, who comes from a sire and dam with hunting titles. “Wink is good at anything I do with her,” says Blanchard, and that includes rally, barn hunt, dock diving, Frisbee, and their passion, canine freestyle. Better known as “dancing with dogs,” freestyle combines elements of traditional and nontraditional obedience, dressage, and dance in a musical program by dog and handler. “Freestyle is a great sport for show dogs,” says Bev. “It teaches body awareness and keeps the dogs physically proficient and mentally sharp. They can entertain the crowd instead of just standing there.” This morning, Wink, the Number 8 GWP last year, has added a Best of Breed at Westminster to her accomplishments. But Blanchard insists, “Wink is a pet. She lives with me and goes everywhere with me.” She laughs as she recalls falling in love with a puppy picture sent to her by a Facebook friend. “She was the fourth pick from a litter of six. I just wanted her to be finishable. It just goes to show, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Wink is handled by Lindsey Cook from Ohio and was bred by Michael and Angela Johnson, Christi Chism, and Mary Lynn Jensen, all of Florida.
GCh. Sleepy Hollow’s Scarlett O’ Hara is a gorgeous orange belton English Setter, the first of her breed to win a Gold Grand Championship, and the Number 1 English Setter bitch last year. Breeder/owner/handler Lori Mowery describes the 5-year-old as “very flashy. She loves to show and judges love her movement. She flies around the ring.” At home with Mowery and her husband James in Enfield, Connecticut, Scarlett may be found pointing birds in the backyard, showing the characteristic crouch or “set” that gives the breed its name. On the road, she’s happy so long as she’s accompanied by her pillow pet, a big stuffed bee. Bred with Sarah Crepeau, Scarlett is Mowery’s first home-bred champion. Competition among the English Setters will be fierce today, with a large field including two of 2014’s Top 20 Dogs Amongst All Breeds. One of them, a dog called Teller, GCh. Stargaz’R ‘N Wait Wait Don’t Tell, will win Best of Breed, while Scarlett will take Best of Opposite Sex. She will be retiring for motherhood after Westminster. Mowery has a sire picked out, but is keeping his identity a secret.
Westminster…What Dreams Are Made Of
It’s not easy being a Portuguese Water Dog these days, with 3½ year-old Matisse, GCh. Claircreek Impression de Matisse, the Number 1 Dog Amongst All Breeds for 2014, creating a ceiling that’s tough to crack. Last year, Matisse won 134 Bests In Show, and the other Top 20 PWDs, none at all. But that hasn’t stopped a sizable contingent of handsome PWDs from coming to Westminster to try their luck. Good sportsmanship abounds. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to watch Matisse these last three years,” says J Doster, a PWD owner and enthusiast from Shelburne Falls, Massachussetts. “He’s a great ambassador for our breed. The first time I met him, he was in a car in the parking lot, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.”
But 3 year-old Stella, GCh. Tagalong’s Stella Maris’ Compass Rose, is seriously eye-catching herself. Standing on a grooming table in the benching area, her mass of glossy black hair, classic conformation, and beautiful dark eyes draw people in close enough for her to demonstrate her sweet disposition by giving kisses. Bred by Benita Bottom-Svitchan of Kensington, Maryland, Stella is a Bronze Grand Champion who won an Award of Merit at her National Specialty last year. She is co-owned by Bottom-Svitchan along with Bill Varr and Victoria Morro, a husband and wife from East Freetown, Massachussetts. They become PWD fanciers when Morro, who is Portuguese, went looking for the right breed to accompany them on their sailboat in the summer. Varr is an M.D., and Stella goes to work with him. Patients organize their appointments in order to see Stella, he says. Morro adds that Stella is very smart and often gets into trouble, stealing hot dogs from the kitchen counter and surfing desks in the office—an activity that once involved her with a bottle of Wite-Out®.
As Tuesday at the Piers draws to a close, a diminutive black Scottish terrier bitch is napping in her red tartan dog nest. Roxy, Ch Fireheart’s Over the Rainbow, has had a tiring day. A champion working on her grand championship, 3-year-old Roxy has captured an Award of Merit at her first Westminster to add to another recent triumph—a Group Three at AKC/Eukanuba 2014—where she came from the Bred by Exhibitor class. Michael and Susan Sacchetti of New Haven, Connecticut own Roxy together with Marianne and John Melucci of Stamford, Connecticut, who worked with Dr. Gary and Mandy Lazarus to breed the Scottish terrier. For the Sacchettis, Roxy is a beloved pet—greeting customers at Michael’s travel agency, playing ball, strolling in the park, and sleeping in the bed, preferably on Susan’s pillow. “First and foremost a Scottie should be a pet,” says breeder/owner/handler Marianne Melucci. “For most of them, that’s going to be their job. I breed them for life outside the show ring.” But cooperating with the Sacchettis, she says, gives Roxy “the best of both worlds as pet and show dog.” Roxy is certainly a trouper. She wakes up briefly to pose obligingly for photos with visitors to the benching area, sitting pretty and showing off the pink Mardi Gras beads she’s wearing, and then settles again to her post-Westminster nap. “My dream is to get to the green carpet at the Garden,” says Marianne. Perhaps that is Roxy’s dream as well.
Westminster figures in the dreams of many dog fanciers. Some dream of a BIS win, some of simply exhibiting a dog there. For some, it’s an annual pilgrimage; for others, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. What the dogs dream of, we can only guess. But it’s probably safe to assume that for most, a good meal, a pat, and being with a human who loves them is enough. Dogs have simpler dreams—it takes far less to fulfill them than their owners.
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Posted by ralbee
on Apr 22 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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