Only well-behaved pups need apply

Ruger left the ring with his handler and was immediately met with condolences from the audience.

“You were robbed,” two women repeatedly told the 4-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Ruger, legal name Camelot’s Promise to Bakari, is a champion. He’s considered one of the top dogs in the nation, but “not with these judges,” his handler, Don Rodgers, lamented after losing a competition Sunday at a dog show sponsored by the Spokane Kennel Club and held at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center.

Many say competition between dog owners and professional handlers can dominate the political landscape of the shows, with owners who go to shows as a hobby feeling like they take the backseat to professionals paid to attend the shows with dozens of dogs.

“They know the judges and the judges know them,” said Dave Norris, of Seattle. “They go ‘Oh, of course it’s a good dog because you’re handling it.’ “

Things can get very political, said Mehra Crummett, of Spokane.

“The more your face is seen, the better you do, I feel,” said Crummett, accompanied by Baby Girl, her Afghan hound.

“Everybody here is pretty competitive, no matter how much sportsmanship they show,” said Tamatra Davenport, a professional dog handler from Lakebay, Wash. Davenport was showing Bella, a 3-year-old Neapolitan mastiff. The two plan on attending today’s show in Coeur d’Alene, as do many of the other participants.

Marty Glover traveled from San Francisco for the weekend show. A professional dog handler, he flies all over the world, showing dogs for just one client. When asked if the shows are competitive, Glover replied, “They’ll give you a frickin’ ulcer and a migraine.”

Many owners aren’t afraid to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure their pooch takes top honors in as many competitions as possible.

Kathy Lockyer of Buckley, Wash., said spending $45,000 a year on one dog is considered low for many competitors.

With travel costs and storage fees, “you could easily be at $400,000 without even blinking an eye,” said Lockyer, who was at the show with Rembrandt, her 2-year-old longhaired dachshund.

“To campaign a number one dog, you have to be out traveling every weekend,” Glover added.

But there’s room for the non-millionaires.

Pat Rodgers, who met her husband, Don, Ruger’s handler, at a dog show, said she and her husband have shown dogs for people of all different incomes.

“We’ve shown dogs for millionaires and we’ve shown a dog for a woman who was baby-sitting to earn money just to pay us,” she said.

Some say that’s what’s so appealing about dog shows: Anyone can compete.

“There can be a housewife and an executive, but you’re all on the same level when you walk into the ring,” Debbie Petersen said.

Petersen traveled from Springfield, Ore., with her dog William Powell, a 10-month-old Afghan named after the actor.

“Billy” is a dog show beginner, Petersen said, so the weekend was all about learning and having fun.

Davenport said that, despite the championships and money that can seem to dominate the industry, fun is why most people go to the shows.

“I guarantee you over 75 percent of these people who do it, they do it because they love it,” he said.

Barbara Nelson of the Spokane Kennel Club said more than 1,500 dogs were registered for the show. People traveled from all over, packing the parking lot of the fair and expo center with cars, motor homes and trailers. For some it was a business venture; for others it was merely a fun weekend trip with their best companion.

Either way, the dogs were always the stars of the show.

“They’re beautifully groomed; they’re structurally sound,” Nelson said. “They’re gorgeous.”