Pooch perfect

As they sat in the main building of Augusta Expoland on Friday, Meredith Persinger and her Italian greyhound, Charlie, quietly prepared for the competition ahead.
For 13-year-old Meredith, that meant mentally reviewing everything she had learned from her experience with the Skyline Kennel Club, the host of Friday and Saturday’s back-to-back 60th and 61st All-Breed Dog Shows.
For Charlie, preparation meant catching up on his sleep in Meredith’s lap, his tiny head nuzzled under the teenager’s elbow as she talked about the work they’d done together.
“I practice with him in our basement,” Persinger said. “Practice going down and back, and stacking, where he stands in perfect form so the judge can see his best features. … Before the show, I have to groom him, give him a bath, trim his whiskers, do his nails, make a checklist of everything that needs to go to the show.”
Hundreds of purebred dogs and their owners traveled from around the country for Skyline Kennel Club’s pair of shows on Friday and Saturday, filling Augusta Expoland and its auxiliary buildings with a vast menagerie of canines. Pooches large and small, longhaired and shorthaired, breeds from the tiny Chihuahua to the huge Great Dane, populated the grooming area and the sidewalks outside.
Inside, the dogs vied for their titles at the obedience and rally trials and youngsters gained experience in junior handler competitions, but the biggest draw was the conformation competition, an event to recognize dogs according to breeding standards.
“There is a written description of what the perfect dog is, according to breed,” explained June Cohron, vice chairwoman of the show and president of the Skyline Kennel Club. “If you win the breed, beagle for example, you are designated as the beagle that’s the closest to the perfect beagle. It’s a pyramid. We start with 165 breeds and pick the best of each one. Then, they’re divided into seven categories and we pick the best of each one, and then we pick the best of those seven, That’s the Best in Show.”
Some of the country’s most award-winning dogs and their handlers competed in Friday and Saturday’s competitions, including Charmin, the Sealyham terrier ranked No. 2 dog of all breeds in the country and named “Best Terrier” at the Westminster Dog Show. True to his name, Charmin looks soft and squeezable, with long white fur and a distinguished beard.
Owner Margery Good shows Charmin and more than a dozen other dogs professionally, traveling to four to five dog shows a week from her home outside Philadelphia. The shows are very labor-intensive, she said, but it is a labor of love.
“I love the dogs, and I love people who love dogs,” Good said. “I want to spend time with people who love quality and care about good sportsmanship and good virtues, and there’s always something to learn. Never, ever do I get bored.”
Friday’s event was only the second dog show for Meredith Persinger and her 7-month-old Italian greyhound, whose full name is Belcanto’s King Caspian. Persinger, who lives with her family in Newport in South Augusta County, got hooked on dog shows through the Skyline Kennel Club.
“She’s always loved animals, especially dogs,” said Meredith’s mother, Deanna Persinger. “We went to the dog show at the Augusta County Fair last August. That’s when we first met June [Cohron] and got involved with the Kennel Club.”
After Meredith attended gatherings and handling classes through the local kennel club, she knew that dog shows were the sport for her. Charlie came into the Persingers’ lives in January, after Meredith had been involved with Skyline Kennel Club for about five months.
“When I was at handling class, they brought this champion Italian greyhound named Johnny Angel and I fell in love,” Meredith explained. “He is very friendly with anyone. He’s a good companion, he loves sleeping with you, he’s very fun to be with. He likes chasing things. He likes running. He has his tail wagging most of the time.”
Meredith and Charlie got some extra experience at Friday’s show, when they got to advance to the Toy Group competition. When she left the ring, she was greeted with a hug from Cohron.
“I’m so proud of you,” Cohron said. “He looked just great.”
According to Meredith, there are many dog shows yet to come for her and Charlie.
“I like thrill of the dog show,” she said. “I like the experience, and watching all the other beautiful dogs.”

To see more photos from the Skyline Kennel Club dog show on Friday, visit Sage Merritt’s blog, “With Merritt.“