Subscribe
Community
The dog days are here
The dogs have their days, as show visits county fairgrounds
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photos by Gary Smith
Stephan Fuller,10, of Bristol, Va., shows his standard schnauzer, Bandit, Saturday at the Crab Cluster Dog Show.
|
E-Mail This Article
Adults were blow-drying the coat of springer spaniels, fussing over the quilt-covered animal crates and laboriously trotting alongside weimaraners in the ring, hoping for a perfect score.
Yet, in the dog show world, the adults are quick to point to another ring where a 10-year-old constantly pushes up her horn-rimmed glasses from sliding down her nose in July’s thick heat. Where a young boy is dressed not in the summer uniform of shorts and a T-shirt, but powder blue dress pants and a matching vest.
‘‘It’s not about the dogs,” said Cindy Miller of Hershey, Pa., a dog show regular. ‘‘It’s all about the kids handling the dogs. It’s a fair chance and a way to encourage the kids to do well and like the sport.”
Doug Tighe of Hope, N.J., stopped by the dog show on his way home from a family vacation in Florida. The married father of three sons, Tighe was born into the world of dog shows.
‘‘I’m second generation. It was a way of life for me,” said Tighe, who shows Brittanys. ‘‘My son is 8, and I’m thinking about what dog I’m going to give him.”
The Chase sisters from Lancaster, Pa., were showing beagles during the show. Angela, 12, enticed her little sister, Rebecca, 10, to join the circuit with her.
Angela came to love dogs through watching dog shows on TV and programs on Animal Planet.
The sisters share custody of a basset hound, but during Saturday’s event, Angela showed her beagle, Walker, while Rebecca showed Piccalilli, also a beagle.
Rebecca likes her dog, which she calls ‘‘Lilli.”
‘‘She’s fun to be around, and most of the time she’s your best friend,” Rebecca said, adding, ‘‘She’s training me.”
But the best part about going to dog shows?
‘‘Winning,” Rebecca piped up, smiling broadly.
The kids come to the sport in different ways.
His father, who shows standard schnauzers, introduced Stephan Fuller, 10, to the sport.
After showing Bandit, Stephan stripped off his coat and tie and took in the rest of the competition with his mother, Laura.
‘‘I think dog shows are fun,” said Stephan, who with his family will attend eight shows in 10 days. ‘‘I like to come and compete, and I know Bandit has fun.”
The Crab Cluster is made up of three dog clubs — the Potomac Hound Club, the Southern Maryland Kennel Club and the Rock Creek Kennel Club. The annual dog show is not as formal as other shows, but all the rules are the same, said Lisa Miller, the show chairwoman and owner of Kiarry Kennels in St. Mary’s County.
During the five-day show, more than 1,800 dogs will come through the fairgrounds each day, and each owner-handler or professional handler will think their canine is the best.
‘‘They’re all very proud of the breed [they’re showing],” Miller said. ‘‘It’s about pedigree combinations to make the perfect dog. There is a lot of preparation.”
The amount of money that goes into showing the top dog is staggering, which explains why owners and handlers treat the dogs ‘‘like royalty,” according to Miller.
It’s not a hobby. Showing dogs is a sport, said Pattie Jenner, a circuit regular and judge of junior showmanship during Saturday’s event.
‘‘This is a bonding experience for all these people,” Jenner said. ‘‘This is working with man’s best friend.”
Considered by Miller to be the ‘‘grande dame” of the sport, Damara Bolte of Leesburg, Va., had a front-row seat by one of the rings.
Training and showing dogs for decades, Bolte received a degree in animal husbandry before learning, back in her day, that women weren’t sought after in the field. She took a job working with dogs and never looked back.
‘‘You get hooked. Anybody can have a dog, but it’s fun to have a pretty one,” Bolte said. ‘‘It’s like a painting. A living, breathing work of art.”
E-mail Sara K. Taylor at staylor@somdnews.com.
