At Westminster dog show, a display of dogs and devotion
- 14 May 2024
Less than three years ago, Mary Ann and David Giordano were taking turns lying on the living room floor with their Afghan hound Frankie, hand-feeding the desperately ill dog anything she would eat.
She had developed severe kidney problems after contracting Lyme disease, despite being on medications meant to repel the ticks that carry the bacteria that cause it. Veterinarians weren't sure she would survive.
Yet on Monday, Frankie was at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, healthy and ready to compete. She would face off against over a dozen other Afghan hounds — including Zaida, the winner of last month’s World dog Show in Croatia — for a chance to advance to the next round of the United States’ most prestigious canine event.
"It was really tough,” Mary Ann Giordano said, her voice halting as she described Frankie's eight-monthlong ordeal. "But she made it.”
For all the pooch pageantry of Westminster - the coiffed poodles, the top-knotted toy dogs, the formality of dogs trotting around a ring - it's also an illustration of the bond people form with dogs, and what each will do for the other.
Monday marked the start of the traditional judging that leads to the best in show prize, to be awarded Tuesday night. Semifinals began Monday night, pitting the winners of each breed against others in their "group,” such as hounds or herding dogs.
The first semifinal winner was Louis, an Afghan hound that had bested Zaida, Frankie, her littermate Belle and several others to win the breed.
"This breed’s supposed to be ‘the king of dogs,’ and he knows he is,” handler and co-owner Alicia Jones said.
Also advancing to Tuesday night's finals is Comet, a shih tzu who won the toy dog group at Westminster on Monday - and took the best in show trophy at last year's huge, televised American Kennel Club National Championship.
"He's just everything you would want in a shih tzu,” co-owner, breeder and handler Luke Ehricht said after Comet won his breed Monday morning. With a flowing coat like a vanilla-and-caramel ice cream sundae that’s melting onto the table, the dog looked up at his handler with the sweet expression that’s prized in the breed.
"He’s a very sweet, loving dog” who knows when it’s time to perform and when it’s time to relax and play, said Ehricht, of Monclova, Ohio.
In all, seven semifinalists will be chosen Monday and Tuesday nights.
The 2,500-plus first-round entrants range from tiny Yorkshire terriers to towering great Danes. They include a newly added breed, the Lancashire heeler, represented Monday by a single contestant named Mando.
If he knew a lot was riding on his little shoulders, he didn't show it as he appeared in the first-round ring and someone in the audience yelled, "Yay! History!”
"He just has a rock-star attitude,” handler Jessica Plourde said afterward.
The show also was a first for Alfredo Delgado and Maria Davila, who had traveled from Juncos, Puerto Rico, with their French bulldog, Duncan.
Associated Press