on the bed, and doing whatever he wants to do
When Sari Tietjen said to a nearly full crowd at Madison Square Garden “Thank you all, I love them all – Tonight the Sussex”; she made her decision at the last minute.
“I didn’t know who he was or how old he was,” Judge Sari Tietjen said. “He’s just everything that you’d want in the breed, and I couldn’t say no to him.”
After awarding the dog his 51st best in show, she said he was a stellar example of the breed, and added that she was totally unaware of his advanced age.
Nearly 2,500 dogs were entered at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Stumpy the 10-year-old Sussex spaniel became the oldest winner in the history of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the first of his breed to win the silver cup; and the 2008 winner, Uno, was the first beagle to ever win Best in Show in his breed.
Stump came out of retirement to win his first show in four years. Owner-handler Scott Sommer decided last Wednesday to bring Stump to the big show, just for fun.
Needless to say, there was no pressure or expectations. “This was like going for a walk with my pet,” Sommer said.
Stump won the Sporting Group in 2004; the next year he nearly died after a serious ailment. Stump spent 19 days with veterinarians at Texas A&M, who saved his life. “A miracle,” Sommer said.
Stump will be traveling around the country over the coming year, representing the Westminster Kennel Club and serving as a “spokesdog” for Westminster Kennel Club’s remarkable charity “Angel on a Leash.”
Angel’s goal is to create the best therapy dog programs in health care facilities and other settings across the country. At the end of 2008 Angel teams were visiting nine prestigious health care facilities accross the United States.
Angel On A Leash has agreements with two other therapy dog organizations; Mid South Therapy Dogs of Memphis (MSTD) and Intermountain Therapy Animals of Salt Lake City (ITA). MSTD is a Delta Society affiliate that sends teams to approximately 40 facilities in the Greater Memphis area. ITA has developed a successful and widely-implemented animal-assisted therapy program called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) and this agreement grants ANGEL(Westminster Kennel Club Charity) the right to implement R.E.A.D. programs.The Westminster Dog Show featured R.E.A.D.(Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program on national television in a segment that was aired right before the Best in Show competition on February 8th, 2004. See videos and links regarding this program R.E.A.D(Reading Education Assistance Dogs) in Roxie’s Family and Dog Issues Section.
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