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Annual competition spans three days, draws crowd
Published 3/15/2010 in Local News
By MONICA SPRINGER
As people walked past Brogue they couldn't help but smile.
Holding his face in their hands, children and adults asked his owner, Carrie McLean of Black Forrest, Colo., more information about him.
Brogue, a 170-pound Irish Wolfhound, didn't mind the attention. His gray, woolly tail wagged as people pet him.
Brogue was one of hundreds of dogs who competed in the American Kennel Club dog show over the weekend at the Finney County Fairgrounds.
The show, held annually in Garden City, featured hundreds of dogs that range in weight from 3-pound Chihuahuas to dogs as large as Brogue.
The show works like this: one winner is selected from each breed, then that breed competes in the championship group.
There are seven groups: sporting, non-sporting, toy, hound, working group, herding group and terrier group.
And the winners from each group then compete in the Best of Show.
Owners, handlers and breeders spent time combing, fluffing, and walking with their dogs just outside of the show ring in the 3i building on Sunday afternoon.
Each dog has a registered name with the AKC and a call name, or what the owners call the dogs.
Brogue's kennel name is Aust./Amer. Ch. Tirowen Lord O The Dance.
And Mirror's AKC name of Ch. Karrahmel's Promised Image. Mirror, a smooth collie, belongs to Shana Drago, a breeder, owner and handler from Wichita.
Mirror finished in the championship of her breed and moved on to compete with other dogs in the herding group on Sunday.
Drago, who's been showing dogs for 20 years, said judges look for breed specific details in judging. And in collies, the details of the head and face are important, along with its gait and bone structure.
"We had a good weekend," Drago said. "Dog show people are the best people in the world."
She'll attend about 10 or 12 shows this year, she said.
Ramona Haney, show chair, said the show consisted of three different shows held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
About 650 dogs competed each day, she said.
The dogs in the show came from all over the United States. And some, like Brogue, even came from overseas.
McLean is Brogue's co-owner. His other co-owner lives in Australia, and after Brogue won multiple shows there, his co-owner sent him to the U.S. to see how he stacked up to American competition.
She has Brogue for the year, then he'll go back to his other co-owner in Australia.
"He loves coming to shows," McLean said. "Any day spent with your dog is a good day."
Haney said overall show attendance is down this year because of the economy. She said nationally, the American Kennel Club has seen a decrease of 10,000 entries so far this year.
She cited gas prices, hotel stays and food as major expenses for the handlers, but said that the weekend show drew good dogs and good judges.
The dog show also gave Garden City residents a chance for entertainment.
Garden City residents Emily Robles, 9, Raquel Zarate, 12, Kevin Robles, 8, and Kevin Reyes, 11, said they never attended a dog show before Sunday.
They sat and watched each group and commented on which dogs like liked the best.
Kevin Robbles said he liked the English Sheepdogs. His sister, Emily, liked German Shepherds. Zarate liked the Huskies and all kids said they liked the Pulis.
"It's pretty cool," Kevin Robles said.
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