Big day for American's Ridgebacks yesterday as it was their National Specialty. Actually, it has been going on all week since there were about 400 dogs entered and each sex and class division takes hours to judge. Yesterday was the Specials class which is comprised of the dogs who have their American Championships - the Best of Breed dog is usually out of this class. Zero was entered and although I was at work while the judging was being completed I got home to discover that he won one of only a few Awards of Merit! I think he was the only Canadian Bred dog to be awarded one of the top prizes of the day. His brother Raimi and his niece Cora here in Nova Scotia are so proud of their family! Leeloo would be proud if she cared at all about showing; if he was the Champion Squirrel Hunter of the USA she'd be interested ...
Zero continues to exceed expectations in almost every way this year. The highlight being, obviously, Westminster Kennel Club in New York City because I was there to witness his big win but being recognized out of an entry of over 400 dogs at a National ranks a pretty close second. Currently he is the #1 Ridgeback All Breed and #2 Breed Ridgeback (based on dogs defeated) and is still going strong.
As always I can't thank his owner Erin or his handler Juliet enough for all the hard work they've put into Zero. I can't do much more to help than to cheer him on from afar and hope he manages to finish the year on top of the podium. It's pretty safe to say I'll never own or have bred another Ridgeback who is able to accomplish all that Zero has but perhaps little Cora will be able to follow her uncle's footsteps in some small way one day!
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