Hundreds of dogs compete at Suffolk Kennel Club dog show
Pongo, a Chinese Crested hairless variety, attended the Suffolk County Kennel Club dog show at Planting Fields Arboretum Saturday with breeder Arlene Butterklee, of Ronkonkoma. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Her face freckled with the belton markings characteristic of her kind, an English Setter called Victoria studied her surroundings through chocolate-brown eyes.
Amid black and brown dachshunds, a caramel-colored corgi and a white Westie on a grooming table, she appeared calm — the requisite temperament of a show dog. Victoria was one of hundreds of canine competitors this weekend in the Suffolk County Kennel Club and Westbury Kennel Association's annual dog show.
The multiday event, held this year at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, was expected to involve 450 canines on Saturday and the same amount on Sunday, said Dawn Eisele, president of the Suffolk County Kennel Club.
The multi-day event drew hundreds of dogs and their owners Saturday. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
"It's considered a small show," Eisele said. For many of the dogs, she said, this show is a stop on the way to a New Jersey show that will host over 4,000 dogs next week.
Under the cover of white tents, dogs waited in crates and on grooming tables to trot the perimeter of the open-air ring. Jennifer Johnson traveled from Delaware to show Sawyer, who she identified as the No. 1 field spaniel in the country. Among Sawyer's accolades are wins at the Westminster dog show and the American Kennel Club Invitational, Johnson said.
"It's a beautiful location," Johnson said of Planting Fields. "We have some big shows coming up, so it's a good warmup for him for next week."
English setter Marguerite, with owner Maura Romer, left, and handler Cate Auerswald, earned Best Junior. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
At 22 months old, Victoria is also among those training for the larger Morris & Essex Kennel Club Dog Show next week, said her owner, Maura Romer.
"This is a good show to get practice for Morris & Essex because most of the people who are here today will be going to New Jersey," Romer added.
Romer, a Huntington-based breeder, loaded her minivan Saturday morning with four dogs — Victoria; her mother, Coco; brother, Pimlico; and aunt, Marguerite — and corresponding crates. Victoria, rewarded with chunks of precooked Perdue chicken, would compete on Sunday for the purple American Kennel Club ribbon.
"Here's how I describe it," Romer said. "You take a beautiful baby, the entire family thinks this baby is gorgeous, to 10 strangers. First eight strangers say, 'thanks for coming.' Stranger number nine goes, 'Blue baby, blue ribbon.' Stranger number 10 says, 'purple ribbon.' "
Over the past 25 years, former Siberian Husky sled racer Robert Eisele has judged dog shows in South Korea, Canada and across Europe, he said. As an SCKC board member and delegate to the AKC, he was not a judge in this weekend's competition; but he runs a website that outlines the judging criteria.
"There's a written standard on every breed, so I started putting little notes on the written standard when I was judging," said Eisele, who lives in East Islip with his wife, SCKC President Dawn Eisele.
Eventually, this became breedstandardlibrary.com.
Katherine Jochen, of Eastchester, tended to her Old English sheep dog Bandit at the event. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
As a junior handler, Connecticut high school student Cate Auerswald came to Long Island to help show dogs on Saturday. She won in the best junior category, for her own showmanship, she said.
"I'm in my senior year of high school, so I play a fun balancing act between school, doing this, which is usually a very long day," she said.
She left her house before 6 a.m., she said, and planned to be back home for her high school's football game in the afternoon.
"You get to know lots of interesting people, you get to do lots of interesting things, go interesting places," she said. "You get to be very responsible… you've got to take care of yourself, you've got to take care of your dog."
Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.
