Could 14, 2024, 7:27 p.m. ET
Could 14, 2024, 7:27 p.m. ET
The A-listers who traveled to New York this previous weekend, gathering for the most important occasion of their careers, arrived by automotive and driver, or on planes surrounded by entourages. They didn’t even carry their very own passports, a lot much less pack their kibble or squeaky toys.
Each considered one of them, although, is an excellent canine.
Some 2,500 top-ranked canine are in New York Metropolis to compete on this yr’s Westminster Kennel Membership Canine Present. Breed judging, the marquee occasion, will start on Monday, whereas a number of hundred different canine have already battled it out in occasions testing agility, obedience and the power to dive the farthest off a dock.
Stepping into the present takes years of coaching and energy. Attending to the present requires intensive organizing by house owners and handlers, who plan hours- or days-long highway or aircraft journeys, pack hundreds of {dollars} value of substances — grooming tables, industrial-strength hair dryers, leashes, collars, toys, kibble and extra — and pray that neither delays nor cancellations disrupt their itineraries.
Treats are nonnegotiable.
“I attempt to replenish on wholesome, single-ingredient treats resembling freeze-dried duck or freeze-dried liver,” mentioned Shell Lewis, 71, who got here to New York with a Russell terrier and a Cairn terrier. On present days, nevertheless, her canine obtain “one thing particular and excessive worth.”
“It entails a drive-through McDonald’s to choose up two sausage biscuits — I eat the biscuits, they get the sausage,” she mentioned.
In the USA, accumulating titles at native, regional and nationwide canine competitions require fixed driving, with lengthy journeys the norm. Most canine, their trainers say, are used to the highway.
Ms. Lewis drove 14 hours from Geneva, Ailing., for Spangle, her 2-year-old Russell terrier, to compete within the agility occasion (Alas, Spangle was knocked out within the preliminaries.) Ms. Lewis additionally introduced alongside Nora, her 7-year-old Cairn terrier.
“They haven’t discovered to drive but,” mentioned Ms. Lewis, “however they’re wonderful vacationers.”
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