The Gossip Column: May 5, 2023

Welcome to New York, the hometown for DOG NEWS as well as the AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB, THE DOG MUSEUM and the reason we are all here, the 147th WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB. Some big changes at WESTMINSTER this year, other than the obvious venue change to the UNITED STATES TENNIS ASSOCIATION BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER. The club has a new and energized president in DONALD STURZ, JR. I have personally known DONALD since his junior-showmanship days and his parents active exhibiting, as we are all from Long Island. He brings an understanding of the sport and the unique role that WESTMINSTER plays in it. He understands both sides of the show, the prestige it holds for the exhibitors and public, and the quality of the judges who adjudicate. As last year’s Best in Show judge, he experienced that firsthand, surrounded by longtime members and friends DOTTIE COLLIER, TOM BRADLEY and SEAN MCCARTHY, who did so much to modernize the club as a former president. We are all looking forward as DONALD takes on this full-time position. ... One of the club’s most familiar faces, FLORENCE FOTI, has retired. FLORENCE was always available and helpful with any questions or problems. ...

Hot off the press, a new book about that mischievous breed, the Brussels Griffon. The new tome, which weighs more than a Griff, has been a labor of love for authors JEFF BAZELL and JEFF KESTNER, known affectionately as the TWO JEFFS. (Full disclosure: They are the breeders of my Griffon.) The book has 650 pages with more than 1,000 photographs for your reading and viewing pleasure. It’s an authoritative history of the breed and dispels the longtime notion that Griffs are descended from Affenpinschers. The book is available online for the price of $119.99 To order: www.revodanapublishing.com/books/definitive-brussels-griffon/. To quote the late NIGEL AUBREY-JONES, once you’ve owned a Griff, you will always own one. ...

Who says that a boy from Kansas City, WOOD WORNALL, and his fiancée BARBARA BENTLEY can’t find happiness on the water’s edge in Delaware, where they are actively looking at property. ...

Celebrating wedding anniversaries … SARAH & RICHARD LAWRENCE and MARIE & TOM NUTTING. Celebrating Birthdays … DYLAN KIPP KEITH, RANDY GARREN, TOOTIE LONGO, GREG REYNA, HEATHER JOHNSON, LINDA KINGSLEY, MELISSA BRUCKER, TORIE STEELE, BARBE LYNCH, TIM LEHMAN, BARBARA WALDKIRCH, BETH FINK, LESLIE NEWING, JIM REYNOLDS, PAM LAMBIE, NANCY SPELKE, BARBARA MILLER, HOWARD ATLEE, ELAINE PAQUETTE and CHERIE VIRDEN.