CANINES COMPETE AT SHOW.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer Sniffing the grass at the Ventura County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. on Sunday, the 4-year-old Welsh terrier Welsh terrier, breed of medium-sized terrier developed in Wales more than a century ago. It stands about 15 in. (38 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 20 lb (9 kg). Its close-lying, harsh, wiry coat may be black and tan or black, grizzle, and tan in color. looked like any other well-trained canine with a good hairdresser. But he was much more, his trainer Wood Wornall explained, starting with his name. Most people call him Billy, but his full proper name is Champion Anasazi Billy the Kid. And while he may look like he belongs on a porch chewing a Milkbone, this little dog belongs in the history books, Wornall said. Billy is the top-winning Welsh terrier in the history of the breed, said Wornall, visibly puffing with pride. ``It's a truly awesome thought,'' Wornall said. ``It's an honor for me to be associated with his career.'' Such pride was on display all around the fairground Sunday, as 962 dogs competed in the Unbenched All Breed Dog Show. The smaller of two shows hosted every year by the Ventura County Dog Fanciers Association, the show included more than 100 breeds, from common collies to exotic little Pekingese. Dogs paraded alongside their owners in roped arenas inside two exhibition halls, while vendors sold a dizzying variety of doggie do-dads outside - hand-knit sweaters, nutritionally enhanced treats, books of Chinese medicine for dogs and several booths peddling such canine cosmetics as shampoo, tick spray and pump-action texturizing mist. Other vendors sold shirts printed with the image of dogs, plates painted with portraits of dogs and license plate covers bearing the name of dogs. It's easy to forget that such events really have very little to do with dogs, said longtime showgoer Flo Kotecki. ``It's an ego thing,'' Kotecki said. ``It's extremely competitive and very gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. . Nothing in this world feels so good as having the dog you bred out there as the winner. It feels so good.'' Other owners said the competition wasn't as important as a chance to bond with their favorite four-legged companion. Pausing between clips at the whiskers See metal whiskers. of her Basenji basenji (bəsĕn`jē), breed of medium-sized hound whose origins can be traced back several thousand years to Africa and the courts of the Egyptian pharaohs. It stands about 17 in. (43.2 cm) high at the shoulders and weighs about 23 lb (10. , Kathleen Wood said she doesn't enter shows because of competition. ``I do that for a living,'' said Wood, an attorney from Los Angeles. ``I do this because the dogs like it. It gives me a chance to spend some quality time with my dogs.'' Celebrity dogs sauntered among a field of distinguished competitors including an Alaskan Malamute Alaskan malamute (măl`əmy  t'), breed of strong, compact working dog believed to be one of the oldest arctic sled dogs. It stands about 23 in. (58. called Sno-King Maximum Overdrive, a border terrier border terrier, breed of hardy, medium-sized terrier developed in the Border districts of N England in the 18th and 19th cent. It stands about 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 13 1-2 to 15 1-2 lb (6.1–6.9 kg). named Krispin Mulligan Stew and a Chinese crested Chinese cresteda very small (6 to 12 lb), fine-boned dog with a hairless body. Small numbers of long hairs are present on the lower legs, tail and the head where they are called the 'crest'. called Rassmatazz Spectacular. Then there were dogs like Little Bear, a 150-pound Newfoundland who lay still as a sack of potatoes at the feet of his owner. More of a house dog than a fierce competitor, Little Bear had only entered one show before, said his owner Kevin Rice. Competitions take a lot of energy, a quality Newfoundlands employ sparingly. ``The majority of the time he sits around holding down the carpet,'' he said. ``He's energy efficient.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color in CONEJO edition only) Owners line up competitors Sunday at the Unbenched All Breed Dog Show at the fairgrounds in Ventura. (2) Linda Zimmerman grooms Kate, her Old English sheepdog old English sheepdog, breed of large, wiry working dog developed in England in the early 19th cent. It stands from 21 to 25 in. (53.3–63.5 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 55 to 65 lb (24.9–29.5 kg). , before the Ventura fairgrounds show Sunday. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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