The A-listers who traveled to New York final weekend, gathered for the most important occasion of their careers, arrived by automotive and driver, or on planes surrounded by entourages. They did not even carry their very own passports, a lot much less pack their meals or squeaky toys.
Every of them, nevertheless, is an excellent canine.
About 2,500 top ranked dogs are in New York Metropolis to compete on this yr’s pageant Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Breed judging, the marquee occasion, will start on Monday, whereas a number of hundred different canines have already battled in occasions that check agility, obedience and the power to dive as far-off from a dock as doable.
Getting on the present takes years of coaching and energy. Attending to the present requires in depth group on the a part of house owners and handlers, who plan highway or airplane journeys lasting hours or days, pack hundreds of {dollars} value of kit – grooming tables, industrial hair dryers, leashes, collars, toys, meals and extra – and pray that neither delays nor cancellations derail your itineraries.
Treats are non-negotiable.
“I attempt to replenish on wholesome, single-ingredient treats like freeze-dried duck or freeze-dried liver,” stated Shell Lewis, 71, who got here to New York with a Russell terrier and a Cairn terrier. On present days, nevertheless, your canines obtain “one thing particular and of excessive worth”.
“This includes a McDonald’s drive-thru to purchase two sausage biscuits – I eat the biscuits, they get the sausage,” she stated.
In the USA, accumulating titles in native, regional and nationwide canine competitions requires fixed driving, with lengthy journeys being the norm. Most canines, their trainers say, are used to the highway.
Lewis drove 14 hours from Geneva, Illinois, for Spangle, his 2-year-old Russell terrier, to compete within the agility occasion (sadly, Spangle was knocked out within the preliminaries). her 7-year-old Cairn terrier.
“They haven’t discovered to drive but,” Lewis stated, “however they’re glorious vacationers.”
