T&C Goes to the Dogs: An Illustrated Westminster Dog Show Diary
On Monday and Tuesday nights, the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show took over that the most hallowed of all arenas, Madison Square Garden. But that is only the tail end of a four-day multievent canine spectacle. On Saturday and Sunday, at the nearby Javits Center, a larger if less legendary venue, 500 dogs and their owners gathered to compete in a variety of disciplines for the Canine Celebration. New this year was an event called Flyball, part fetch, relay race and hurdles. In the back of the cavernous halls, good boys and girls sat, stayed and heeled in an Obedience competition. Just as interesting as the dogs were the dogs’ people, a strange dedicated breed, loyal, loving and very friendly.
Kelly Davis and Nun
I co-own Nun. Her name is pronounced like the Hebrew character. She has a brother named Gimel, like on a dreidel. It’s a theme with the litter. She’s competing in Confirmation, which is where they judge all the breeds. She is a very good example of a borzhoi. She has this lovely curve, is very long and is put together beautifully.
Dr. Valerie Biehl and Pipa
Pipa is a five-year-old Bernese mountain dog. She’s a grand champion with two championships in agility, with titles in herding and pulling a cart. She’s jumped 18 feet and nine inches in dock diving. She’s my dog. I bred her. Her mother, Kida My Heart, is in heaven now but she was a grand champion. Pipa—like Pepe Le Pew but a girl—is the number one preferred Bernese mountain dog in the country. She’s a superstar. I got her picture printed on my leggings.
Megan and David Esherick with Spice and Grommet
Megan: They’re PBGVs, hounds that are bred in France to hunt rabbits. That’s Petit Basset Griffon Vendéens. Peanut Butter Grape Vine. They both qualified in agility.
David: I’ve always had dogs but I had Australian Shepherds when I met Meg. We always tell people we were like the Brady Bunch when we got married. We had four of each of our breeds. I had Aussies and she had PBGVs. We had one of each in our wedding. One was the flower girl and one was the ring bearer.
JohnieSue Thurman with Finn and Chiaki Ito with Ann Perkins
Chiaki: I found Ann Perkins on the street in Wilmington, North Carolina, and I took her to my first obedience class. The teacher said “Hell no!” She was so crazy. She said I had to do agility. We took our first agility class and she was great. And here we are at Westminster. Last year we made finals. This year we didn’t. A lot of people who find dogs on the street don’t spend the time it takes to get a dog to this level.
JohnieSue: Finn just ran a double qualifying run. Now we’re going to have a cocktail. Finn is going to have a mockrail. I manifested my friendship with Chiaki. On Agility Gate, the app we use, you can see the dogs’ names. I saw that there was a dog called Ann Perkins, which I knew came from [the TV show] Parks and Rec. I had to meet this dog. Suddenly Chiaki walked down the stairs. She didn't have her dog but I knew. I said, “Do you have a dog named Ann Perkins?” (This was 7:30 in the morning.) She said yes and now we’ve been friends ever since, traveling the country together.
Tylre Burman and Danny Chamberlain
Tylre: I’m 30. I’m from New York.
Chamberlain: You should say Dog & Tux. We have this whole thing going. He’s Dog and I’m Tux.
Tylre: We’re here because Mug is a sponsor. We go to events and we go for walks in the dog park.
Danny: We don’t have dogs ourselves but we are letting the world let out that dog in them.
Rhodni Boyd and Melanin
I’ve been watching Westminster since I was nine with my mother. Last year I finally got a dog. She’s only one. She can’t compete this year because she still has her puppy coat. My mother wants her to compete in agility. She’s fun and happy and she loves the ball. I personally want her to do show, to sit still and look pretty. And it is more affordable for me. I can’t afford to get a trainer for agility. I’d teach her myself but I have no idea what I’m doing.
Eric Berg and Pepsi
My name is Eric. I’m allergic to dogs and I’ve got six dogs. I’ve always trained them and always loved them. I treat them like my kids. I just ran Pepsi in the Flyball. She didn’t do very well but we always try to let them run the course immediately after they mess up so they get her confidence back up. Some dogs, when they mess up. shut down. So you got to let them try again.
Paul Campanella
I’m the director of operations for the Westminster Dog Show. Today is going extremely well. This our first Flyball competition.It’s exciting plus we can include mixed breeds, which for years, you couldn’t do at Westminster. We’re trying to expand our horizons and open it up a little.
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