Last Monday night, the world gained its 148th “Top Dog” when a sleek ebony hued miniature poodle named Sage took the title of Best-in-Show at the Westminster Dog Show in New York. I loved how handler Kaz Hosaka carried Sage down the hall before placing her on the ground at the entrance of the ring to present her one more time for judging. You could feel their bond – they were a team and they were there to “Go Big”. Upon being pronounced winners, an emotionally overwhelmed Kaz embraced Sage.
When I was ten, I’d been gifted a beautiful brown toy poodle named Coco. Her AKC papers proclaimed she was Princess Sheri (Sher-ee) Cocoa Puff and I dreamed of us heading to Madison Square Garden one day to claim the title of B-I-S. Out on the dead ended road in front of our family home, with the NYC skyline in the distance, we’d pretend we were in the ring showing for a cheering audience.
Alas, that did not happen. Coco would meet a sad end seven years later and my love for dogs went “on hiatus”. Busy with going off to school and then “career stuff”, marriage and moving, it wasn’t until 2002 that my late husband Rich and I welcomed a beautiful wavy-coated black and white Portuguese Water dog in to our lives that he named Hooper. Later would come our foster-to-forever dog Teddy and of course my dog Quint, that I adopted just weeks after Rich’s passing.
Just days before Sage was crowned, another dog named Miles took top honors in the AKC Agility Competition. Miles, a mixed-breed rescue dog, came to the sport after being adopted by Christine Longnecker in Pennsylvania who said she saw something in the dog’s eyes that begged to be given a chance to show his true merit. Of their relationship Christine poignantly reflects on Miles’s being returned to the shelter multiple times saying, “It is that he’s a rescue mutt that went to Westminster, but I think the bigger story is that with a little bit of belief and a lot of love, you can accomplish anything. I think we can take such a beautiful life lesson from Miles.”
On the very same day that Sage, a dog that has enjoyed the very best of care from day one, took her top honors, a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Animal Shelter took place in Palatka, Florida just 30 minutes from historic St. Augustine. Palatka is located in Putnman County, one of the largest and among the least affluent counties of Florida. This new shelter, slated to be complete by year’s end, will help to house the many neglected and unwanted dogs found wandering township streets and the country-side, many that will not be (nor should be) reunited with their humans for a multitude of reasons. Due to the handwork and caring of county workers and volunteers like those of the Animal Rescue Konsortium (ARK) and The Animal Welfare League of Putnam Co., there’s some hope for these dogs and for the safety of the community.
On Valentine’s Day, my partner David and I adopted a mixed breed pup from ARK, one of a beautiful litter abandoned at a tire shop just up the road from me. I had no intention of adding another dog to our pack, but something encouraged me to meet those pups and as I’d spontaneously made an offer on a log cabin here last November, I instinctively said an immediate yes to rescuing a dog now named Jackson. I think sometimes when we’ve been put through “ruff” challenges we don’t waste time over thinking, understanding that every day counts.
Recently I purchased a beginner’s agility kit for Jackson. He seems to like weaving through its poles and running through the tunnel. I know he is still so young, but he does show an interest and he’s smart and lightning fast. Some days, as we walk through the course, I pretend once again that we are in New York City, showing for a cheering crowd. Jackson, an abandoned mixed-breed dog has the story of a dog named Miles to give him, and other shelter dogs, hope to see beyond their challenging starts in life. With the help of some caring humans, they too can have their own second chances, and maybe even their “handlers”, too.
