Dorothy Berniard Bergeron
June 16, 2008Betty Smith Alton
June 18, 2008
One day it’s a pug. The next day it’s a puli.
That is how the judges’ saw it at the Louisiana Kennel Club’s 92nd anniversary Dog Show in the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center over the weekend.
“Boo,” a two-year-old pug, won Saturday’s best-in-show award, while “Conrad,” a four-year-old black puli, received the honor on Sunday.
“He’s (Conrad) a beautiful dog in beautiful condition,” said Dana Cline, Sunday’s best-in-show judge. “He had all the hallmark of his breed.”
“They haven’t seen a dog this good in a while as pugs go,” said Ben Plucker, Boo’s trainer and a Nicholls State culinary arts student. “He’s doing phenomenal.”
With nearly 800 dogs entered plus their owners and handlers, the biggest winner of all was Houma, which hosted the event for the third straight year.
“Entries were up about 250 dogs from last year,” boasted Show Chairman Deborah Verdon. “So that’s a positive sign in this economy.”
One reason for the increased participation was the top-level judges the club invited attracted high profile dogs and owners, according to Verdon.
“We have to work hard to get the correct panel and a good panel that will bring in everybody,” she said. “There are other dog shows they could attend on this weekend.”
Each day was a new show, with different groups of judges, making it hard for a dog to be a repeat winner.
Dogs advanced in three stages, first winning their breed, then their group, and finally competing for the best-in-show honor.
Judges compared each dog to a mental picture of the perfect dog of that breed. They looked at the physical structure, condition, movement and temperament the dogs.
Boo won best of breed at the prestigious 2008 Westminster show in the toy group, which are small breeds bred for companionships.
He won the toy group both days of the LKC show.
“Boo is traveling the country going from dog show to dog show almost every single weekend,” said Plucker, a family friend of two of Boo’s owners.
The dog is accompanied by handler and part-owner Doug Hamilton and travels by plane. Boo has an unnamed personal sponsor who pays for their expenses.
The dog will probably compete in shows for another two years before he retires to stud, which would earn thousands of dollars in fees, according to Plucker.
“He already has several litters born,” he said. “His puppies are beautiful. They’re also going out into the dog shows winning and placing high.”
Tri-parish residents will likely see Boo’s offspring at the Civic Center because the KLC plans to be here for the foreseeable future.
“The building is very superior to a lot of the dog show places we go to,” Verdon acknowledged. “We will be back next year. Houma is a perfect fit for us, and we hope to be able to grow and be here for several years.”
Two-year-old pug Boo, Saturday’s best-in-show award winner, is greeted with hugs and pets from adoring fans at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. The center was the venue for the Louisiana Kennel Club’s 92nd anniversary Dog Show. * Photo by KEYON JEFF
