The Gossip Column: May 23, 2025

WESTMINSTER’S judging panel has been released. The Best in Show judge DAVID FITZPATRICK and the seven group judges DOUG JOHNSON, MICHAEL CANALIZO, SIOUX FORSYTH-GREEN, POLLY SMITH, CHARLOTTE PATTERSON, GENE BLAKE and SHEREE MOSES COMBS will rely on the breed judges to send the best of their entries into the respective group rings. Among those Sporting breed judges are TYRON ATKINSON, JOSE DOVAL, EDDIE DZIUK, CINDY VOGELS and GAVIN ROBERTSON; Hound breed judges DENISE FLAIM, DAVID MILLER, GAVIN ROBERTSON, PATRICIA TROTTER and RAYMOND YURICK; Working breed judges JUDY HARRINGTON, SANDRA PRETARI HICKSON, FAYE STRAUSS and ADRIAN WOODFORK; Terrier breed judges IAN GABRIEL, ROZ KRAMER and BRUCE SCHWARTZ; Toy breed judges TIM BRAZIER, CONNIE CLARK, IAN GABRIEL, GEORGE MILUTINOVICH, PATTI PROCTOR and EKARAT SANGKUNAKUP; Non-Sporting breed judges TIM BRAZIER, EDNA GONZALEZ, GEORGE MILUTINOVICH and EKARAT SANGKUNAKUP; and Herding breed judges TOMMY COEN, IAN GABRIEL, SHARON ANN REDMER, JOSEPH RENO and CHANNING SHEETS. ...

Rounding out the panel are the Junior Showmanship judges JASON HOKE, VALERIE NUNES-ATKINSON and MICHAEL FAULKNER, and the Masters Agility Championship judges HEATHER DICKINSON and DANIEL WOLFSON. ...

If you have been obsessed with the rate of the fluctuating tariffs imposed by PRESIDENT TRUMP or following the never-ending gory details of the P DIDDY sex-trafficking trial, you might have missed that earlier this week the EU (EUROPEAN UNION) and the UK (UNITED KINGDOM) kissed and made up following their messy divorce five years ago when the U.K. voted in favor of Brexit. Amid all the celebratory reactions on both sides of the English Channel concerning trade rules and laws that government officials haggle over came one decision that affects us: the reintroduction of the Pet Passport, the instrument that made for hassle-free traveling with your pet into the United Kingdom. That long-enjoyed travel rule ended with the introduction of Brexit. According to DR. ED HAYES, the head of Public Affairs at the ROYAL KENNEL CLUB, “We thoroughly support the reintroduction of the Pet Passport system, meaning that dogs traveling from the United Kingdom will no longer need animal health certificates for every trip, which have proved to be both costly and burdensome for pet owners, and something we have continued to raise concerns about with government officials in the United Kingdom.” Just a heads-up if you plan on traveling to CRUFTS or other travel to the U.K. that includes your dog. ...

Congratulations to CATHERINE PIKUL and ZAK CARSON on their marriage this past Sunday. RC CARUSI had the honor of walking Catherine down the aisle.