The Gossip Column: May 10, 2024
It’s the beginning of the weeklong WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB celebration in New York. The show will once again be held at the USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER, where the memories of SAMPRAS, AGASSI, MCENROE, CONNORS , EVERT, NAVRATILOVA and GRAF will morph into GREEN, HARRIS, TRAINOR, SOMMER, MCFADDEN, RANGEL, FITZPATRICK, CLARK, FITZGERALD and OSTERMILLER, all of whom handled multiple Westminster Best in Show winners, as well as BOB & JANE FORSYTH, the only husband and wife team ever to have handled Westminster Best in Show winners. ...
The AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB has announced that its board of directors has adopted the AKC EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS POLICY AND RECOMMENDATIONS, establishing another step in creating a safer and more respectful environment. All conformation and Junior Showmanship judges will be required to complete the STEWARDS OF CHILDREN registered training from the DARKNESS TO LIGHT non-profit organization once every three years. All judges have been notified, and Junior Showmanship judges are required to complete this new training by August 1, 2024. ...
The PURINA PARENT CLUB PARTNERSHIP DONATION is a program designed for Purina Pro Club members to earn points with their purchases of Purina products. These points are recalculated into dollars, and the donation by PURINA to the AKC CANINE HEALTH FOUNDATION in 2023 was $111,910. Since the inception of the program in 2002, the PURINA PARENT CLUB PARTNERSHIP has donated more than $9 million. For further information, visit www.akcchf.org/ppcp. ...
There is courthouse in Ventura County, California, that has a dog named Comet who wears a vest and bowtie and sits in the witness box to help calm the nerves of those testifying. He’s so successful that now there are more than 320 specially trained dogs with their handlers working in courthouses across the country, according to ELLEN O’NEILL-STEPHENS, founder of the non-profit COURTHOUSE DOGS FOUNDATION. Especially popular out West, there are nine states that legally allow courtroom dogs by law. ...
TOMMY TOMLINSON, author of THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, a book about his being overweight, has turned his attention to dogs. His newly published book coincides with its topic and title in the coming days: DOGLAND: PASSION, GLORY AND LOTS OF SLOBBER AT THE WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW.