
Photo by Kristen Bischoff.
The Gossip Column: January 31, 2025
MEET THE BREEDS, the best and most-attended event hosted by the AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB, took place this past weekend at the Javits Center in Manhattan. It is the same venue that now will be home to the daytime breed judging for the WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB. MEET THE BREEDS is the best opportunity for the public to be exposed in person to the benefits of purebred dog ownership. It helps dispel the negative press by animal-rights supporters and other negative-minded public officials. The other event that is exclusively an AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB event is the AKC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DOG SHOW, which is part of the marathon week of dog shows in Orlando, Florida. That event, while abundantly supported by exhibitors, has very little public attendance, so much so that there is no admission charge to enter the show.
Now just several weeks later, MEET THE BREEDS played host to 35,000 visitors over the two days it was held. Visitors were able to see the more than 150 breeds that took part in this exhibition. It is interesting to note that only one of the nine delegates running for the board of directors, LAURIE MAULUCCI, attended this important public event. ...
All of us at DOG NEWS were saddened to hear that our friend of many years JEFF PEPPER passed away. One of the original group of founders of TAKE THE LEAD, JEFF was active until the very end and served as the longtime treasurer of the organization. He and his former wife BARBARA GOODKIND PEPPER were best known for breeding Golden Retrievers. JEFF lived in New York and California, finally settling in Florida, and was active in local dog clubs. He is survived by his children and grandchildren and longtime companion SANDY OLSEN. A memorial appears in this week’s issue of DOG NEWS written by his good friend PAT TROTTER. ...
WESTMINSTER time brings to mind the wedding anniversary of NANCY & BRYAN MARTIN, two people we need to see more of. BRYAN has been judging, while NANCY works tirelessly on raising funds to help feed the dogs and pets of those in the armed forces. ...
Celebrating a birthday on February 4 is well-known Canadian Dandie Dinmont breeder and judge MIKE MCBETH, who is embarking on a whirlwind Dandie spree that will start with judging our national in May, then on to Scotland to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dandie Dinmont Club, the second-oldest breed club in the world. She will cap it all off with judging at the Border Union Championship dog show. ...
Closer to home, celebrating Birthdays … R.C. CARUSI, KATIE BERNARDIN, LUIS ABREU, MARCELO CHAGAS, BERGIT KABEL, JANE ALSTON MYERS, LARRY CORNELIUS, LORI KAUTH, BRYAN BOYES, JOAN FISHER, JOHN KRUKAR, SUSAN CARR, SIOUX FORSYTH-GREEN, KIP KOPATCH and the HOUSE TWINS STEPHANIE & LAUREN.