By Sarah Mauet
arizona daily star
With their human handlers in tow, 2,500 champion pooches will descend on New York City's Madison Square Garden Monday and Tuesday for the 131st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
"It's the premier dog show in the world each year," said David Frei, the Westminster Kennel Club's director of communications. "A dog has to be an American Kennel Club champion to enter."
Among the esteemed AKC champions will be the Yorkshire terrier Sparkling Blu Dreams of Glory — Glory for short — and her owner, Tucsonan Nancy Lonas. This will be Lonas' ninth visit to the Garden.
"You just can't do it one time," she said. "It's something you kind of get obsessed with."
Lonas has been showing Yorkies for 25 years, but she thinks she has something really special in Glory, who has several national and international titles to her name. Most recently she won two awards at the December AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.
People are also reading…
"Glory is phenomenal," Lonas said. "She's one of the best dogs I've ever bred. Most of the judges really love her."
Weighing in at 4 3/4 pounds, the spunky, pint-size pooch turns circles and barks in high-pitched squeaks when she meets someone new. While the golden hair on her head is always pulled back in a topknot with a bow made by Lonas, the rest of Glory's hair is steel blue and falls straight to the ground.
Glory, who will turn 4 in July, comes from a line of champions that Lonas has bred. The breeder/handler is very discriminating when it comes to breeding her champs and allows only one to two litters a year.
"I'm not a backyard breeder," she said. "I'm not a puppy mill. I'm responsible for every baby I bring into this world. . . . The most important thing is that they're happy for the rest of their lives."
Her dozen Yorkies are of the utmost importance to her. She even became a vet tech so she could help her veterinarian with procedures.
"My dogs are my life," Lonas said. "They are the reason I get up every morning."
Glory sleeps on a satin bed to protect her coat and has a nanny to keep her company during the day and a dog whisperer to help her through her problems — but she is a pet first and foremost, Lonas said.
"She's very much a normal dog," Lonas said as Glory sat on her lap and licked her owner's cheek.
What separates a champion from a pet Yorkie is determined by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America.
"Each breed has a written standard, and that's what you are judging against," explained Westminster Kennel Club's Frei, who will co-host the telecast of the show.
When the Yorkies are judged, Lonas and Glory will enter the ring and do a lap with the other Yorkshire terriers. All dogs will be evaluated on their movement as well as an up-close inspection.
If Glory wins Best of Breed, she will advance to the group competition and be judged against the other toy breeds. If she wins there, she'll be one of seven dogs to compete for Best in Show.
While the judging may be the main point of the show, it's only a small portion of what the dog-owner pairs do at the Garden. Westminster is a bench show — when not in the ring, each pair is on display so spectators can view the dogs and talk to the owners.
"It's part of the whole Westminster experience," Lonas said. "It's one of the few bench shows left."
It takes a lot of time, effort and money to become a champion, and while the top Westminster dogs will take home medallions or trophies, there's no monetary prize.
"There's no money involved," Lonas said. "It's just an honor."
By the numbers
2,500 dogs will compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. 165 dogs — the Best of Breed from each breed — will compete against others in their sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting or herding group. From the seven group winners, one is selected as Best in Show.
Watch it
TV: Group and Best in Show competitions will be shown on the USA Network in Tucson on Cox Channel 28 and Comcast Channel 35 9 p.m.-midnight Monday, noon-3 p.m. and 9 p.m.-midnight Tuesday, and noon-3 p.m. Wednesday.
Online: Highlights from each breed competition will be online at www.westmin sterkennelclub.org within two hours of the judging completion. The Yorkies will be judged Monday at 12:45 p.m. EST.
Yorkshire terrier standards
For more information on the standards defined by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America, visit www.ytca.org/standard.html.
