The Gossip Column: November 25, 2022
Hopefully, you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family, and got to watch the KENNEL CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA dog show following NBC’s airing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This benched event gives our sport the largest viewing audience on network television, exposure that is priceless. ...
Norfolk Terrier maven BARBARA MILLER has expanded her horizons and authored a comprehensive history of the LONG ISLAND KENNEL CLUB. Long Island, like its namesake kennel club, was and still is home to many top-winning dogs and bold-face-name breeders, exhibitors, handlers and judges who hail from this mighty piece of real estate surrounded by Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The club was founded in 1903 by DWIGHT MOORE, F.B. THOMPSON, JOSEPH DALE, H. ELMER GIBB, CLARKE DAY and J.E. COLLINS, whose interest was to hold an annual dog show. Over the years, such names as LINDSAY, FELL, WEST, PLATT, AUSTIN, LONG and YABLER joined. As most of you know, Brooklyn and Queens are two boroughs of New York City, but they are on Long Island (which is also home to Nassau and Suffolk counties). The club held its monthly meeting in the Johnston Building on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. BARBARA’S research culminated in an interesting read with little-known facts about a club that has been a mainstay in our sport. It may not have the number of dogs entered as it did in the past, but even today club members put on a lovely show in a bucolic setting. Maybe others around the country will take her lead and do an in-depth book on their dog clubs. ...
For those going to the CRUFTS DOG SHOW in March who just might want a change of pace, attend a performance of MY FAIR LADY starring my friend MICHAEL XAVIER at the Birmingham Hippodrome. MICHAEL is a two-time OLIVIER AWARD nominee who has appeared on Broadway and London’s West End opposite GLENN CLOSE in SUNSET BOULEVARD. ...
A recent small item in THE NEW YORK TIMES about cemeteries in the city brought peace of mind to me and several other well-known people in our sport. I won’t mention their names, but they know who they are. For 12 years, the thought was that there would be a knock at my door investigating an incident in New York City’s CENTRAL PARK. A well-known and much-loved dog person was very proud of being bred, born and raised in Manhattan. So much so that on his death, his wish was to have his ashes scattered in Central Park. So on a beautiful sunny day, friends gathered at the Manhattan home of another friend to lift a glass and toast in this person’s honor. Then, like a class on a school trip, we marched together to Central Park. Finding an appropriate spot with no strangers lurking around, the ashes were strewn. There were laughs and tears and great remembrances of a unique and talented man taken from us way too soon. So much so that this group of highly intelligent individuals (or so we thought) were breaking the law. Fast-forward to the October 30 Sunday edition of THE TIMES, which featured an article that stated as there is only one active cemetery in Manhattan, the most popular final resting place may be Central Park, a legal site for the scattering of human ashes. Another near miss with the law. Rest in peace, my dear friend. ...
Newly elected NEW YORK GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL has awarded approximately $5 million to humane societies and not-for-profit animal shelters for expansions, construction and renovations. Monies are from the “New York Companion Animal Fund.” Among the awardees are the towns of Brookhaven, Hempstead, the Hamptons and Bidawee, all on Long Island. ...
Bears repeating: The entire day of November 30, you can do your part to help those defending our country and less fortunate feed their pets, thanks to the great efforts of FIDO PET FOOD BANK, a charity closely associated with NANCY MARTIN in the Pacific Northwest. It helps our servicemen’s families afford to keep their pets while they are stationed overseas. Thanks to the generosity of PANDA EXPRESS, 28 percent of the bill will be donated to FIDO.