Dogged competition
‘You invest your life in this’
A Great Dane named Bright has that determined look at the Santa Clara Valley Kennel Club’s annual dog show at the county fairgrounds. Some 1,400 canines are entered.
SAN JOSE — Saturday’s rainstorm didn’t stop more than 1,400 dogs — and their proud owners — from strutting their stuff at the Santa Clara Valley Kennel Club’s annual dog show.
Nearly 140 breeds competed for bragging rights and titles such as Best of Breed and the ultimate honor — Best in Show. The three-day event, which started Friday with obedience trials, drew dog lovers from all over the state — and, in some case, across the ocean.
Adrian Agard, 37, took time off from his construction job and flew from Hawaii to enter his Shih Tzu, Jeffrey, in the competition — and the hard work paid off. After going nose to nose with 10 other pups, Jeffrey was awarded the Best of Breed title on Saturday. On Sunday, he will compete in his “toy dog” group and then possibly for Best in Show against six other dogs.
Agard has bred hundreds of dogs and snagged awards in dog shows across the country, but he doesn’t get rich off of it.
He calls it a “labor of love” — a hobby that turned into a passion and is now a lifestyle. Agard has traveled the world attending dog shows.
“You don’t make money doing this, but you invest your life in this,” Agard said, holding Jeffrey, who donned a bright blue hair tie. “This is like the Olympics, and he’s my gold winner.”
Fair Oaks resident Deborah Bean went to Finland to bring home Primadonna, who won its Best of Breed category on Saturday. The spaniel-type dog, called a Nederlandse Kooikerhondjes, is extremely rare: There are only 7,000 in the world — roughly 400 in the United States and only 20 in California.
Primadonna, who has already won eight titles, is on her way to the top.
“These dogs are amazingly smart and like to work,” said Bean, a retired environmental planner who started training her dog as a puppy. “The training is repetition, using awards and treats.”
While the dog show is competitive, event organizers say the dog owners form friendships that continue between dog shows. And the dogs, which are carefully judged on their balance, appearance and movement, are totally spoiled.
“These dogs are treated better than most people,” said Maggie Peat, show chairwoman and president of the Santa Clara Valley Kennel Club. “I know people who want to come back as one of these dogs in their next lives.”
The club, which was founded in 1952 and has 30 members today, organizes dog care training programs every quarter. The dog show is the group’s largest event and takes dozens of volunteers and more than a year of planning. The club has hosted dog shows for nearly 40 years.
“It’s a family environment,” Peat said. “I have dogs all over the world and all over the country. We’re connected through dog shows.”
Nancy Guarascio, the director of marketing at J. Rockcliff Realtors in Oakley, breeds and shows Hungarian Vizsla dogs. One of them, Tiana, was named the American Kennel Club’s No. 3 Vizsla in 2015.
It all started when someone asked her to babysit the family dog.
“I said, ‘One day I’m going to have one of those,’” Guarascio recalled.
Joan Ganz showed up Saturday to show off Biz, her Staffordshire bull terrier who won the top championship in England. She’s been going to dog shows around the world for 16 years.
Win or lose, Ganz said, it’s all about having fun.
“It’s a dog show. It’s not life or death,” Ganz said. “You can lose one day and win the next.”