The Gossip Column: February 4, 2022

The WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB dog show is back on the calendar come June 18 through the 22nd. The conformation part of the dog show will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (group and Best in Show judging on Tuesday and Wednesday) so that it won’t interfere will other shows held on the weekend. The show is returning to the very popular Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York. The venue is certainly a crowd pleaser, and more importantly not traveling to New York in the dead of winter makes for a more pleasant experience. ...

The day after the WESTMINSTER dog show is the start of the FCI WORLD DOG SHOW in Madrid. Madrid was the chosen venue several years ago, but the pandemic caused that cancellation and it is seems to be finally happening. A great city – too bad it falls on the heels of WESTMINSTER. ...

Sad and restrictive news from NORWAY: Judges in an Oslo court that included a veterinarian and a geneticist agreed with animal-rights supporters to ban the breeding of ENGLISH BULLDOGS and CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIELS, stating that both breeds have a high prevalence of hereditary health problems. There arguments included that BULLDOGS suffer from eye conditions, breathing difficulties and folds in the skin that cause infections, and CAVALIERS suffer from cataracts, allergies and joint pain, and that almost half of them develop heart disease by the age of five. Just another awful example of how animal-rights supporters are slowly closing in on us. ...

CRUFTS is a great alternative for those longing to travel again. The four-day event starts on Thursday, March 10. ...

Last weekend in Ocala, judge APRIL CLYDE had a bad fall, breaking her kneecap, which caused her to cancel her judging assignment and return home. Hope all is well. ...

Those three Musketettes, JODY GARCINI, LAURA KING and ROBIN NOVACK, will soon be off on one of their annual holidays … this time, Cancun. ...

PETER JAMES, the former chairman of the English Kennel Club, has passed away. PETER served as chairman from 1996 to 2002; prior to that he was vice chairman for eight years. ...

Not content to have a Manhattan flat, BARBARA BRUNS & WOLFGANG STAMP are looking to buy a home and spending more time in the States from their native Germany. ...

Celebrating a Wedding Anniversary … NANCY & BRYAN MARTIN. Celebrating Birthdays … R.C. CARUSI, JOAN FISHER, BERGIT KABEL, MARCELO CHAGAS, SIOUX FORSYTH GREEN, KATIE BERNARDIN, KERRY KUPER, LARRY CORNELIUS, JANE MYERS, LORI KAUTH, BRYAN BOYES, JOHN KRUKAR, SUSAN CARR, KIP KOPATCH, TONYA HOLIBAUGH, THE HOUSE TWINS (STEPHANIE & LAUREN) and last but not least CELIE FLORENCE.