A pair of lucky dogs from South Delta are jetting off to the Big Apple to enter a beauty contest to see if they can come away with some big prizes.
Dixie, 5, a Parson-Russell terrier, and Siren, 2, a mini-bull terrier, both will be entering the breeds category for conformation competition in the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York. The pair of dashing canines will be judged on how they look.
“It’s a beauty contest,” said Tamara Laza, who co-owns Dixie with friend Masako Gooch. “It’s pretty cool. I was excited to see that we got accepted. It’s definitely a bucket list kind of thing for me. So, we leave for New York on the 12th of May.”
Not just any stray cur or junkyard mutt can show up at the Westminster dog show.
Good breeding is required, and the dog must have won an American conformation championship to enter.
Dixie is currently the top Parson Russell terrier in Canada.
Laza said that if they win their breeds competition, they move on to the group category. An ultimate success would mean winning the next category, best in show, or being named the best dog that year at the Westminster show, May 11 to 14.
But Laza added she’d just like to do well in the breed competition.
“Just the experience alone is going to be an amazing deal to meet some of the people I’ve been talking to over the years and never got to meet,” she said.
Having a show dog means a busy travel schedule. Dixie was not even in town last week because her handler was entering her in a competition in Ontario, followed by another event in Quebec.
Dixie has been competing in shows since she was a puppy.
“The dogs travel more than we do. It’s not a cheap hobby, that’s for sure,” said Laza.
Some of the bigger shows in the U.S. offer prize money but here, winning a championship is mostly for prestige, title, and breeding.
Another big event is coming up this July in Langley when the Canadian Association of Parson Russell Terrier Fanciers show takes place.
