Unsung Heroes of the Breed – Porter Washington

BY AMY FERNANDEZ

Here in Dogshowlandia, the home of fair play and equal op- portunity there are a couple unspoken truths, A: certain breeds win way more than others, and B: professional rep- resentation tends to have a beneficial effect moving things along in that direction.

Therefore there’s something intriguing about idealistic indi- vidualists who disregard those maxims for a particularly rough road to the top. This sport has never suffered a shortage of steely nonconformists, perhaps it was the era’s general celebration of countertrends, but the 1960s stands out as a golden age of owner/handler rebels.

E.W. “Tip” Tipton set new records with his owner/handled Min Pins, most notably Ch. Rebel Roc’s Casanova von Kurt, runner up for top dog all breeds in 1961. Pat Craige’s Vin-Melca Elkhounds permanently revised the Hound Group odds. A big shocker of the decade came from the Terrier Group, a traditionally reliable gate- way to stardom–for certain breeds, and that hadn’t included Skyes for about a century when Walter Goodman owner/handled the breed back into the spotlight. Likewise, Non-Sporting always cranks out a predictably high percentage of top winners. Arguably, the biggest owner/handled game changer charged outta there and it wasn’t a Poodle, Bulldog or a Frenchie. The Keeshond had knocked around AKC since1930 but big winners were few and far between until Porter Washington made it the most unexpected con- tender to hit the ring in decades. Better yet, he switched from pro- fessional to owner/handler to do it.

Oklahoma born and bred, and part Cherokee to boot, Porter in- herited his love for the sport from his father who showed Pointers back in the 1920s. Like much of his generation, WorldWar II prompted some serious reevaluation of life plans. In Porter’s case, a safe, conventional career in aeronautical engineering couldn’t compare to the possibilities of professional handling. The future he envisioned was gonna be good; he had no idea how good. Start- ing in Sporting breeds, he built his reputation showing black Cock- ers during the Brucie craze. His big winners included Ch. Heather’s Mr. Chips and Ch. Whitfield’s Why Certainly. His roster of affluent clients grew along with the breeds he showed. By all accounts he was at the top of his game when he gave up his professional status to wing it as an owner/handler. He wasn’t looking to add a few extra challenges to his life. The decision was purely practical; he no longer needed to work after his top client became Mrs. Porter Washington.

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Posted by Alex on Jul 26 2017. 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.