Sporting Fields Junior Jester

Canine Chic 2004

The summer of 1998 we set out to find a puppy for our daughter Claire.  We found him on the Blue Ridge of Virginia.

Claire's 4-H dog club teacher had recommended Sporting Fields Whippet Kennel.  John, the kennel man, met us as owner Debbie was bathing two puppy contenders. The farmhouse dining room was awash in show dog stuff, the long table covered with stacks of dog show entries, show ribbons in plastic sleeves and winner's circle photos.  There were several large portraits on the walls of two little girls with different whippets.

Suddenly a white streak whooshed into the room, careening under the table, zigzagging around us.  "That's Junior."  He was 10-months old and a surface dead ringer for Luke, one of the kennels top dogs.  But Junior's chest hadn't filled out and "he needs someone to love."  John called the other pup Piglet.  He had perfect conformation, was 10 weeks old and more subdued.

When I called to make the appointment I explained that Claire hoped to show her puppy in the American Kennel Club's Junior Showmanship class, where children are judged how well they show their dog, not how closely the animal meets the breed's standard.  After Debbie explained her kibble supplement of homemade rice with veggies off we went, agreeing to return a puppy in two weeks.

Claire had her heart set on having a young puppy so Piglet had a decided edge. Both dogs went everywhere with us over the two weeks.  The night before we were to return a pup Claire told us her decision.  "Junior."  She couldn't have foreseen how much a dog could want someone to love.

Girl and dog spent the next nine months taking first obedience classes then Carol Knock's handling classes.   Knock helped bring the Belgian Malinois breed back from near extinction after World War II.  She's also one of the finest dog trainers around and Claire learned a lot from her.

A whippet manicure before the first dog show April 1999

     Their first dog show was at Mattiponi, Prince William County, Virginia.  

     Junior and Claire took home a blue ribbon that day.  It was a great start to 

     one of our most fun family enterprises.

The early morning half-mile trek in the rain from the muddy parking area to the 

show ring at Old Dominion, the largest Mid-Atlantic dog show

Claire & Junior winning at Old Dominion 2000

Molly & Junior 2000

Claire retired Junior after the Old Dominion show.  The dog show life was too stressful for him.  He was a natural in front of the camera and happiest lure
   coursing, long hikes, hanging out with us and of course running.  Up to the
   last month of his life he still managed a wobbly run about the backyard. 

   

   Junior died February 28, 2011.  He shared over 12 years of his life with us.  

   How we miss him.

"A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it with money. It just happens along."E. B. White, The Care & Training of a Dog