Husky News

Becky Pomeroy sailed through the Sunnyview Expo Center Saturday morning with the lovely Bertha, ears dragging on the floor, at her side.

A toddler took one look at the short-legged dog and squealed, “A puppy!”

Bertha is a Basset hound, and she’s anything but a puppy. She’s 7, rather elderly to be doing dog shows. But she’s got what it takes, Pomeroy said.

And by the way, her ears were meant to do that.

“Their ears should be long enough to wrap around the end of their nose,” Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy didn’t even slow down when the toddler reached out to Bertha. She had work to do. It’s not easy to tend to several dogs at a busy dog show. Pomeroy, who operates Rebec’s Bassets, a kennel in West Salem, had traveled to the American Kennel Club all-breed dog show in Oshkosh this weekend to show her beloved Bassets. A friend tended to an unexpected puddle under Bertha as Pomeroy checked on her other pooches in cages stacked one atop another.

In all, Pomeroy owns 17 dogs, 15 of which are Bassets. She didn’t bring all of them to Oshkosh. She attends shows two weekends a month. It’s a chance to meet other dog-loving friends from all over, she said.

“It’s a hobby. It’s fun. It’s got to be fun or you wouldn’t do it,” she said, laughing.

The show continues today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Bertha is among some 950 dogs registered in the show that is being presented by the Oshkosh Kennel Club and the Winnegamie Dog Club.

The Expo Center was a whirlwind of human and canine energy as every imaginable breed of dog cavorted and strutted for the judges as dog owners groomed their pets and fussed over them. There were dogs so big they looked like they might be comfortable wearing saddles and some so small they fit nicely into their mistresses’ purses.

Even outside the Expo Center there could be no mistake that a dog show was taking place Saturday. First of all, all manner of muffled barks could be heard and vehicles sported license plates with such words as “Whippet” and “Newfie.” An elegant, long-haired Afghan Hound, looking for all the world like some kind of folk singer from the 1960s, sat in the driver’s seat of a van, eyes trained on the entrance nearby.

Inside, Terry Smith of Little Rock, Ark., tended to Honey, a 187-pound female English mastiff that sat daintily in a cage with slippers on her front paws. The slippers discourage Honey from chewing on her paws. It’s a bad habit similar to a human’s nail biting, Smith said.

The dog show is more than the showing of animals. It’s an opportunity for dog lovers to share stories of their favorite breeds and for the public to view the animals. It’s a place for vendors to hawk their wares and pet enthusiasts to socialize.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 11,” said Debby Jahnke of DePere.

Jahnke praised her Samoyed named Lucky after a judge bestowed a blue ribbon on the large, fluffy, white dog. Jahnke cooed over her pet and shared the news with friends.

“I love the social part of this. All my friends are doggy people,” Jahnke said.

Source:The Northwestern