George Bell breeder-owner-handling Saluki CH. Bel S’mbran Aba Fantasia to BIS at the Santa Barbara Kennel Club in 1980. From left, British judge Catherine Sutton, Agnes B. Buchwald, Carla Molinari of Portugal and Jose Mauricio Machline of Brazil.
The Gossip Column: January 28, 2022
DOG NEWS was so honored that JOE GREGORY chose us to print his last letter to the fancy to thank the sport of purebred dogs for a life well lived. A gentleman to the end, he never took his long and rich career for granted, and he shared those thoughts with our readers. He will always be remembered, not for the 94 years that he lived but for the 94 years in the way that he lived. He will be missed, and again we send our deepest sympathies to his son JOE, JR. and his daughter EVALYN, who will keep the GREGORY name in show catalogs for many years to come. ...
This was the weekend that wasn’t. The weekend we lost the WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB dog show and the PURINA® PRO PLAN® SHOW DOGS OF THE YEAR AWARDS DINNER partnered with DOG NEWS because of the Covid-19 Omicron variant. Some specialties that revolved around the WKC weekend were still held. But for the rest of us, we had a quiet weekend at home. The good thing about watching football games and tennis matches, we didn't have to struggle to get into our tuxedos. It wouldn't have been so bad had we not had so many other weekends at home. Cancellations and postponements of shows, while lessening, seem to be the norm. ...
Speaking of cancellations, while the dog shows will still be held, NBC will not be televising the KENNEL CLUB OF BEVERLY HILLS this year. MEET THE BREEDS, which was to be held on March 5 and 6 during that weekend, has also been cancelled. ...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, the CRUFTS DOG SHOW is still a go, and with the government relaxing all the Covid testing and isolating it should be held just like in days of old. JAMES F. STEBBINS, chairman of the ASPCA, member of the Westminster Kennel Club for more than 50 years where he served as treasurer, and former president of The Leash, has passed away. A victim of Covid, JIM lived on Long Island’s North Shore for his entire life. He is survived by his wife CYNTHIA ROSSBACH STEBBINS, and his sons EDWIN and RICHARD from his first marriage. CYNTHIA STEBBINS is a third-generation dog person in her own right. She is the daughter of SUSAN GOODMAN ROSSBACH and the granddaughter and niece of the late ADELE GOODMAN and WALTER GOODMAN, respectively, of Glamour Skye Terrier fame. On a personal note, when I got my first Skye Terrier from WALTER we were living in the same Manhattan neighborhood as SUSAN, and we would walk our puppies to Central Park to socialize them. I hate to admit it, but that was 50 years ago. We send our deepest sympathies to our longtime friend CYNTHIA and the entire STEBBINS family. ...
We were very saddened to hear that GEORGE BELL has passed away. GEORGE along with his late wife SALLY bred many top-winning Salukis under the Bel S’mbran prefix. They both went on to judge, and GEORGE wrote many interesting articles, some of which appeared on these pages. Certainly, a highlight of their show career was winning the Hound Group at the Westminster Kennel Club under ANNIE CLARK.