PET OHANA
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Hawaiian Kennel Club marked 100 years of presenting dog shows over the weekend with a show at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. A tricolor long-hair Chihuahua named Oreo trotted through the ring on Saturday.
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Canine century
The Hawaiian Kennel Club hosts its centennial show
Poodles, pugs, toy fox terriers and Shih Tzus showed off their silky coats as well as their style, charisma and showmanship yesterday while their owners fluffed their fur and popped treats in their mouths.
The dogs -- and their owners -- were preparing for the Best of Breed competition in the toy dogs category of the Hawaiian Kennel Club's annual dog show.
And it wasn't just any show. Held at the Blaisdell Center, it was part of the Kennel Club's 100th-anniversary celebration.
A total of 442 dogs from 80 different breeds competed over two days.
One small dog wore a red bow tie on its head. Another had fur so long it covered its eyes. All of the dogs' owners were just as well groomed and dressed.
During the judging, dog hobbyists and lovers applauded as the dogs strutted beside their owners in the competition ring.
Winners in seven categories proceeded to the Best of Show category, where they competed in a final round.
Blossom May, 54, watched as the dogs and their owners posed for photos on a podium. She came with a family member who entered a dog in the show.
May loves "just the excitement of watching all the dogs and seeing how beautiful they all are."
The dogs are judged on their breeding, style and show, not their training, said Gerri Cadiz, Hawaiian Kennel Club president.
"All you have to do is teach it to walk beside you," she said, adding it is not as much training as in obedience competitions.
"Style, charisma, showmanship -- that takes it to the next level," said Ralph Price, of the American Kennel Club.
Breeding and conditioning dogs can be a serious and expensive hobby.
It could cost $25,000 a year to care for one dog, Cadiz said.
Rick Seki got the bug from an uncle that had been entering dogs in dog shows since the 1960s.
"It's another expensive and addicting hobby," said Seki, 43, who has six German shepherds and entered four of them yesterday.
One of his dogs is Gracelyne's Galadriel of Kingswood. He calls her Red for short.
Red has a prestigious lineage. Her grandfather was a Grand Victor in 1995, meaning he won the Best of Breed at the national level. Both her parents were champions in dog shows.
Seki traveled to the mainland to find a dog that would later give birth to Red.
"We wanted a dog with German blood. We're looking for a dog that was smaller in structure, a better shoulder, pigmentation, color," Seki said. Eventually, he found her in Washington and brought her home to Hawaii.
John Gaidos' basenji, Grandquest Kazor's Motumbo Xequemate, won the final competition, Best of Show.
Walking his brown-and-white dog with a curled tail out of the ring, he said he was "high as a kite" and called the win "awesome."
"The basenji is nice," May said. "The basenji's been winning a lot, and it's a gorgeous dog."
