November 14, 2010 • 37 mins
Ever wonder what happens to show dogs after they win the ultimate prize in the dog world? Sassy Seniors host Kelly Jackson tracked down two former Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show winners. Remember J.R. the Bichon Frise who won Best in Show in 2001? He captured our hearts with his enthusiasm when he won the title at the age of 3. Then there's Stump who made Westminster history in 2009 as the oldest dog to win Best in Show at 10 years old and the first Sussex Spaniel to ever win.
The still youthful J.R. turns 13 next month and Stump will be 12 years old. Scott Sommer is the owner/handler of both champions. He talks to Kelly about what it was like to have two dogs win the distinguished award, what it's like to live with J.R. and Stump, and keeping the senior champions happy and healthy.
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Westminster Winners, Where Are They Now? on Pet Life Radio
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sassy-seniors-celebrating-senior-pets-pet-life-radio-original--6671000/support.
The still youthful J.R. turns 13 next month and Stump will be 12 years old. Scott Sommer is the owner/handler of both champions. He talks to Kelly about what it was like to have two dogs win the distinguished award, what it's like to live with J.R. and Stump, and keeping the senior champions happy and healthy.
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Westminster Winners, Where Are They Now? on Pet Life Radio
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sassy-seniors-celebrating-senior-pets-pet-life-radio-original--6671000/support.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bet you are listening to Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Sase Seniors is brought to you by Petco dot com.
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Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hello everyone, I'm Kelly Jackson and welcome to another edition
of Sasey Seniors. So happy that you could join us today.
We have a fabulous guest. Of course, we always have
fabulous guests. But before we get started, the month of
November is such a special month for senior pets. It
is national Adopt a c your Pet Month. Whoop whoop.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
So this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Before we get started. I'm going to give you ten
quick reasons to adopt an older dog. Number one, older
dogs are house strained, so you don't have to go
through all those stages of you know, teaching them the
house manners. Number two, older dogs aren't teething anymore, so
guess what.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
They won't chew your shoes or your furniture.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Number three, older dogs can focus because they're a little
more mellow. Older dogs have learned what no means.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Number five.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Older dogs settle in easily because they've learned. Hey, they
know what it takes to get along with other people,
become a part of a pack.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Number six.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Older dogs they're so good at giving a loving home.
Once they get into a new loving home, they are
so grateful for the second chance.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Seven.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
What you see is what you get. Unlike puppies, we
love older dogs. They've kind of grown into their personality.
Number eight. Older dogs are constant companions. Hey, they're ready
to go to the grocery store with the you on
heights and any other.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Things you like to do.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Number nine. Older dogs leave you time for yourself. And finally,
number ten, the top reason to adopt an older dog.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
They let you get a good night's sleep.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So let's hear it for the older dogs National Adopt
a Senior Pet Month. And if you are looking to
adopt a dog, consider adopting an older dog because they
are often some of the last dogs to be adopted
when you go to animal shelters. So tell that to you,
your family, and all your friends. Adopt an older dog.
We're going to be right back with Scott Summer.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
He is the owner and handler of.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Not one but two Best in Show Westminster Dog Show winners.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
We'll be right back.
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We'll be right back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
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Speaker 3 (05:32):
Welcome back everyone to this edition of Sassy Seniors. My
guest today is Scott Summer.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Remember Jr.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
That cute little fluffy Beshon PRIs who won two thousand
and one Best in Show and Stump. He's the oldest
dog to ever win Westminster Dog Show.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Scott is the owner.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And handler of both of them, and he is our
guest today. Hello Scott, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 10 (05:57):
Hello how are you?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I'm fine?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
How are you good?
Speaker 10 (06:00):
Thanks?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Now you live in Houston.
Speaker 10 (06:02):
Right, yes, I do, Houston, Texas and.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You have a kennel It's called the Kennel at Champions
in Houston, Texas.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yes, so you keep very busy.
Speaker 10 (06:10):
We're very busy all the time. It was a lot
of dogs here.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
You know what, As I was just saying, one of
the best wins I think in Westminster history was seen
when j R. Won the two thousand and one Best
in Show? Is he always like that?
Speaker 10 (06:30):
Well, he's going to be thirteen years old here in
December and he has slowed down some, but he's still
quite active and very much like you saw on TV.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So he was he was around three years old when
he won. Then, Yes, what's it like to be the
owner of not one, but two Best in Show winners?
Speaker 10 (06:49):
It's great, you know, I mean I show dogs. I'm
a dog handler, so it's you know, one of the
most prestigious wins you can have, and to win it
once is great, but winning it twice was just you know, incredible,
and it was it was It's just you know, it's
just your dream. You know, when you show dogs, it's
your dream. It's like playing football winning the Super Bowl.
(07:11):
You know, It's that's what they want, that's their dream.
That's what it's. That's kind of the only way I
can compare it.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Oh my goodness. Well, first I want to talk about JR.
Since he won first the beeanfre Se. Do you think
that because he was so excited and happy, do you
think that he actually kind of knew that something was
going on in his honor that night when he won.
Speaker 10 (07:32):
When I first started showing JR. I think the very
first dog shot I ever showed him and he went
best in cell, and you know, you get excited because
they're winning, and well, you know, they it goes right
down the lead to the dog and they saw a
sense that they know something good just happened. And in
Jr's case, sometimes he anticipated us to win. Whether we
(07:56):
won or lost, he kind of just thought, we want,
you know, and I would you know, you always encourage
them because you want them. You know. It's it's there's
a lot of dog shows in the year, so you
do everything you can to keep them up and happy.
And you know, we go to you know, one hundred
and thirty dog shows or one hundred and forty dog
(08:20):
shows a year, you know, so that that having that
attitude like that and that you know, boldness of his
personality just made it all the better for him.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I know, I'm taking you back a few years still.
Had he made it to Westminster prior to his two
thousand and one win.
Speaker 10 (08:37):
Yeah, the first year I showed him there, he went
second in the non sporting group behind another dog was
the number one dog in the country, which was I
think at which I believe was a standard poodle, And
we got second in the group that year, and then
we did we kind of showed them so, you know,
we really didn't show them a whole lot that year.
We focused more on the next year. We've just show
(08:58):
them every single weekend just about.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
So obviously he was born to be a show dog.
Speaker 10 (09:05):
Quite the personality.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
How much did his life and your life change prior
to winning? Because was that the first time you had
had a dog who had won Best in Show.
Speaker 10 (09:17):
That's the first time I personally have had a dog
that I, you know, showed and went Best in Show.
I worked for another handler. I worked for handler named
Michael Kemp, and he went Best in Show with a
wire fox terrier named Lonesome Doves, which was you know,
I was pretty attached to the dog and I actually
you know, she was born here at the Canal and
(09:39):
we raised her, and you know, so that was my
first experience. You know, I was just a caretaker of
the dog basically. But that was great to win, and
then to go on and win it with JR. Was
just fantastic, and then then to have Stump win was just,
you know, absolutely incredible. It's been a very large surprise.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
How much did your life change then or after JR
One and Jr's life too, or did he just go
back to being a dog?
Speaker 10 (10:13):
Well, and I wouldn't say our lives changed. I mean
he just you know, he does the same thing today
that he did when he was a show dog. You know,
he lives at my house and comes to work with
me every morning and goes home with me every night.
It's the same. He's the same routine that he was
in when he was actively being shown, just you know
a little different. He doesn't like to be on the
(10:35):
grimming table for hours at a time, so I don't
keep his hair as long. You know, he still gets
his weekly as and still gets his teeth cleaned every week,
and gets his nails done every week, and all the
same things he'd had when we were showing him. You know,
he still does all that today.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Well he's still pretty high maintenance.
Speaker 10 (10:52):
Then, yeah, any dog to have with hair like that
if you want to look like it's breathed. You know,
it's there to be maintenance. You know, you have to
keep them trimmed and keep them baths, and then they
seem to last a lot longer.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Of course, I'm thinking of the movie Best in Show.
I mean, how is it? Can you kind of give
us an inside look on the lives of training a
dog to go to Westminster? I know it must be expensive,
must be very time consuming, is it.
Speaker 10 (11:23):
Yeah, you're not comparing to the movie Best No? No, no, okay,
all right, it's no. It's a very It's a lot
of work. You know, I get to the kennel that
we get to the kennel around six o'clock in the morning.
We work twelve hours a day every day, like anybody
preparing to like an athlete. When you're selling a dog,
it's it's that much work you have to do. It's
(11:45):
daily routine exercise, you know, taking care of their coats perfectly.
Their weights have to be perfect. You know, they can't
be skinny, they can't be too heavy. From that standpoint
of a lot of work goes into it. From that.
As far as the spence, you know, it can be expensive.
You know, there's a lot of stuff that you have
to do. The show dogs. You know, there's entry fees
(12:06):
and the owners have to pay the handlers to show
their dogs. And you know, most I guess a lot
of handlers are in the same price bracket. There's expenses involved,
which you know, if you you know a lot of
people do it differently, or you can divide the expenses
amongst all the dogs you take to the dog show.
Other than that, you know, there's a you know, our
(12:27):
daily boarding fee, there's grooming fees or maintenance fees. It
just depends on the type of bug and kind of
what you have to do to it.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
So let me ask you this. So if I, okay,
if someone had just a regular, you know, house dog,
could they make that into a show dog or do
you think show dogs are bred?
Speaker 6 (12:48):
No.
Speaker 10 (12:48):
I have a lot of dogs that I show that
live locally, that go home, you know, during the week,
and then come here to the kennel on you let's
say a Thursday. If we're going to leave on Friday,
the dog will come on Thursday and we bathe it
and do its nails and get it all fixed up
and take it with us and then we come home.
They'll either come pick it up, or if they come
(13:09):
to the dog show, they'll take the dog home with
them Sunday after the show's over. You know, you can.
There's a lot We have a boarding kennel and we
do pet grooming. We have a lot of dogs that
are in a modified look to what they would look
like if they went to a dog show.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
How many years have you been showing dogs?
Speaker 10 (13:27):
I showed my first dog when I was five years old, No,
forty seven.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Now you've been doing it almost all of your.
Speaker 10 (13:35):
Life pretty much. Yeah. My parents bred smooth Fox terriers
and it was just like a like a hobby for
my mother. And I'm the only one of the six
kids that got involved with them in a big way.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
So obviously Westminster's is like the super Bowl of dog shows.
Speaker 10 (13:57):
Yeah, well it's the second oldest sport events behind the
Kentucky Derby. So you know, it's been a lot of
tradition behind Westminster. You know, winning that that it's just
you're just part of a real old tradition and it's
just great to be part of it.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
And I'm assuming you know when you were a little
boy at five, maybe you thought, oh, I don't know
if you thought that at that age that you wanted
to make it the Westminster. But was that something that
you know you wanted to do when you were at
that young of an age.
Speaker 10 (14:28):
Yeah, I used to have practice dog shows in my
front yard the ball My friends would come over and
we'd have all my mother's dogs out there. You know
this is not when I was five. Maybe when I
was like eight, we got practice dog shows and we
make believe we're getting all the dogs ready to go
and show them in the ring and run around the
drive yard or the driveway or whatever like we were at
a dog show. Yeah, I mean it was It's as
(14:50):
soon as I knew what it was, that I knew
it was something I always wanted to do. I mean
I've never never had even a thought that I wanted
to do anything else. Wow, even today, I wouldn't. I
would not change anything about what I do.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Well, you've been there many times, and who knows. You
think you'll go back with another dog.
Speaker 10 (15:10):
Well, all you can do is go and try. Yeah,
you know you can have It's a funny dog show
because you can have the greatest dog in the world
that can have a bad day that day and you
might lose.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Well, I was going to ask you that was my
follow up question, if you ever had a dog just say,
you know what, I am not feeling it today and
just didn't do their best. I mean, what's been like
the most embarrassing moment for you with a dog during
a dog show?
Speaker 10 (15:38):
Well, you know they are they are dogs. They are
going to make mistakes, and everybody's had more than their
share of those things happen. Most embarrassing moment at a
dog show, I guess has to be I had a
becheon that I showed the same type of dog as Jr.
That pulled its head out of the leash in the rain,
(15:58):
and it took us about fifteen minutes to catch her
inside the things. She never left the rings, just ran
around the ring playing. So that that is pretty embarrassing.
But you know they do. They have off days, and
when you show them weekly like we do, you know,
when you're in their show and the dog there's even
the slightest little thing wrong. You know, maybe it just
(16:20):
has didn't sleep well that night, or just you just
know they're a little off, or you know anything. You know,
they all have their moments.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
So when you guys are feeding, you know when you
give those I always see you guys, you know during
the dog shows giving them the little treat.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
What are you giving them that? Are they like liver
treats or something?
Speaker 10 (16:38):
Liver treats are good or it can be chicken or
you know when you some of those breeds that you
see in the ring that have to stand there with
their ears up all the time, like Doberman's and boxers
and those kind of dogs. I mean, sometimes you have
to change what you use because they kind of get
bored with the same thing, you know, So you have
maybe you'll do chicken, or if you go out and
(16:59):
have stay spinner, maybe you have steak leftover and that
whatever you have. Some doms like toys, Some dogs like
squeaky toys. Someones like balls, and you just go and
take within mail with whatever works for that particular dog.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Okay, we're gonna take a short little break, and when
we come back, we're gonna talk about Stump, who is
just he made history not once but twice at Westminster
back in two thousand and nine. So it's gonna be
all about Stump. After the break, we'll be right back,
you guys, We'll be right.
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Back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
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Speaker 3 (19:46):
Welcome back everyone to Sasey Seniors. My guest today Scott Summer,
the owner and handler of two Best in Show winners
two thousand and one Jr. Which stands for Scott.
Speaker 10 (20:00):
Just Right and Champion Special Times just Right.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Okay, and Stump who won in two thousand and nine.
And what a Stump's real name or birth name?
Speaker 10 (20:12):
I should say it's Champion Classics, three D, Grinchy Glee.
And how he got his name? I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I was going to ask you why do they have
such long birth names?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I don't understand that.
Speaker 10 (20:27):
Well. The first part of the name is normally the
kennel that bred the dog, So three D or Classics
is one kennel name, and three D is another kennel name.
So two different people bred his mother, so that's what
the classics, and then the three D those are the
two kennels where he came from? And then Grinchy Glee
(20:50):
I think was I don't know where they came up
with that name. I never asked them that question. But
that's his name.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Well, Stump obviously if you look at him, it's easy.
It's a given why he is named Stump. He has
some perfect Yeah, he has those cute little legs.
Speaker 10 (21:07):
Yep, short stumpy little legs and a stumpy little body.
And I think his name is perfect.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
It is. So.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
He is celebrating a birthday next month, right, how old
will he be?
Speaker 10 (21:18):
Stump will be twelve in December and Jr. Will be thirteen.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Oh if they both have a birthday in December, yes,
oh wow, we're going to be partying at your house.
Speaker 10 (21:27):
Then, yeah, you will have a big, big party first
Stump and Jil. Yes, they normally they normally have those
little small cakes. We normally do normally have those.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Have they been together since they were young?
Speaker 8 (21:40):
Then?
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Have they lived together as.
Speaker 10 (21:41):
Housemaids since they were? Jr. Was probably four and Stump
was three?
Speaker 4 (21:48):
So maybe Jr.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Kind of showed him the ropes of how a show
dog really lives.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Maybe he gave him a few pointers.
Speaker 10 (21:56):
Yeah, I always say to all of the dogs here
the cannel when we go to the Doubshall, I'll say
things to unlike you know that when Jr. Starts balking
or something that we're getting ready to leave, and I'll say,
he's just telling him not to let the family name down.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
So I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Well, take us back. Two thousand and four, Stump actually
almost died, right.
Speaker 10 (22:19):
Yes, he was had a something spread like a poison
offer his entire body, and it basically like shut all
of his organs down, and his heart was working at
less than five percent, and every time they would go
to treat him with certain things, another part of his
another organ would start failing. So that lasted for almost
(22:40):
nineteen days that he lived at the A and M
University for nineteen days, and he was an oxygen tanks.
He had temperature of a one hundred and five. You know,
for like days and days nothing seemed to work.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
So then what happened?
Speaker 4 (22:57):
How did something worked?
Speaker 10 (22:58):
Obviously a combination and it's they just had a slight turnaround,
and from that point everything kept going forward. You know,
we somebody from here, somebody that he knew well, went
there every single day and we'd sit with them, visit
with them. You know, it was just they think that
(23:19):
all of that was important because it kind of gave
them a reason to keep going.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
It's amazing how how humans and pets are so similar
in that respect.
Speaker 10 (23:29):
You know, oh, definitely, but I think that it's it
was a very strange thing. He was great one day.
The next day and this is before he actually went
into the vat. He was fine one day, the next
day he was He didn't eat, which was totally not normal. So,
you know, we did all the basic things that you
would do. You know, we just checked this temperature and
(23:51):
you know, looked at them and you know, tried to
figure out if there was something wrong, and then he
just started to get a little quiet, really quiet, and
then we just took in the vet that same day
and he was at the actual vest office here in
Houston for just a couple of days, and then we
transferred him to the A and M right away because
we realized that, you know, everybody knew something serious was
(24:14):
getting happening. You just have to be try to be
as the head of the game as possible. You can't
wait too long. And if you had waited any longer,
we would have had more problems.
Speaker 8 (24:25):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Well, obviously we're so happy that things worked out because
they really worked out for Stump because he came back
guns pause blazing, and he took that Westminster two thousand
and nine.
Speaker 10 (24:39):
He's still exactly the same he Actually, I think he
looks better now than has ever looked in his entire life.
His coat looks great, his his I mean, he's just
he looks fantastic. You could show him again right now today.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Well, let's ask you. That's my follow up question. He's
retired though, right or.
Speaker 10 (24:56):
He'll he'll never be shown again.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (25:00):
Yeah, once you win that Westminster, that's kind of there's
nothing else for you to do. There's nothing else for
you to prove than the twelve years old exactly, nothing
more for him to go out and try to do.
If if I had a dog and it was the
only show I ever showed that and it went best
in Joe, I would retire reguardless, even if it was
three years old. It's the biggest thing they can len.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Well, he had two things that you would think would
not be in his favor. A he was ten years
old and he is a Sussex Spaniel, correct And that
Breta's never won. Yes, that's true show and you guys
beat the odds.
Speaker 10 (25:38):
Yeah it was. You know. It was the reason why
he went there is because while when Stimp was being shown,
he was honed by Cecilia Ruggles and beat down because
he had made such a he was in such a
condition and he had looked so good. They said, you know,
we should try showing him somewhere once again, just to
show them. Nobody was expecting him to win. We thought,
(26:00):
you know, if he could place in that sporting group
or even just win the breed that he that would
be great. And they just wanted to see him walk
around leg and his tail again like that one more time.
And to be honest with you, that's exactly all we
really expected. Then. To go in there and frg him
to go best and show, it was just, I mean,
just made it a lot more fun. First of all,
(26:22):
because now my name I was an owner of him
and he's lived with me, and you know, he'd gone
through all his problems and to take him there, and
he had won the Sporting group four years prior to that,
so he made it invest in show, but he didn't
go best in Show and taken there and to have
him win that it was just such a surprise that
(26:42):
it was just.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
You know, incredible, It was incredible.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I was watching it and after that it puts older
pets on the map, It really did.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
Scott.
Speaker 10 (26:54):
I think older dogs are great, you know. I mean
there's a lot of dogs that we you know, I
raise certain breeds for certain clients of mine, and it's
there's a lot of dogs that are older or dogs
that we keep for different reasons, and you know, they
could be you know, three years old or four years old.
(27:16):
And when they go when they're placed with people, they
seem to bond really quick with people because they just
get so much to pension just from one individual person.
And you know, like you said earlier, there's a lot
of there's a lot of processes to having an older
dog because you do cut out a lot of the
(27:37):
stages that you have to go through with a puppy.
I mean, it's just like having hopefully you're a child
under fifteen, they're going to make mistakes and do things,
and hopefully you're a child at twenty five, they're been
making the same mistakes you have, so they have a
way to compare them. I mean I don't do the
same things. When I was at ten years old, I
(27:58):
did things different than I do now that I'm forty seven, right,
So yeah, I think there's a lot of good about
older dogs. And I think that I know all of
the older dogs, whether they were we normally if we
have a let's say I have besons that I breed
for Missus Ruggles. You know, we normally breed them once
twice and then some of them will go they to
(28:18):
go live with Missus Ruggles at our house and other
other dogs we've placed in homes where they just become
someone's pet and you know, their spade or nuded and
they just go live with people. And I think there's
a rare occasion. I mean, I have jar and twelve
years old that still does things that someone's three month
old puppy would do. Yeah, but other you know that
(28:39):
he's a rare occasion in that department. In my opinion, Yes,
some stuff would never dream of chewing something up. That's
where JR would definitely choose something up.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
JR still has a lot of pepin as step.
Speaker 10 (28:52):
Oh yeah, very much.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
So.
Speaker 10 (28:56):
I mean, if it's mine and I leave it somewhere,
will try to do something to it. But that's just
the way he's always been ever he was a little puppy,
and he's still the same way. I just think that
having an older dog is great for a lot of people,
you know, I would recommend them to a lot of people.
(29:17):
Opposed to a puppy.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
I would too.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Let me ask you when I was talking to you yesterday,
you had mentioned that really you have raised Jr. And Stump,
who are now in eleven and well who will be
really next month thirteen and twelve. They are still pretty
much the same diet that you gave them when they
were younger, because they look so good. So what is
(29:40):
the secret? Do you care for your senior pets any
differently than you did when they were younger?
Speaker 10 (29:45):
Now? I think that that dogs are to be on
a routine of somewhat, and I think that you have
to find a food that works and you use that
all the time unless there's some reason to change. And
I think that they're that they do better when they
stay on the same diet. I think exercise is really important.
(30:06):
Keeping their teeth clean is important their years. I mean,
every part of maintaining the glooming is very important. You know,
whether it be a smooth coated dog or a lung
coated dog. Keeping them bathed and clean keeps their skin better.
And you can't let things go, you know, like if
they have a bad tooth, you need to take care
(30:26):
of the tooth. You can't wait a year and take
care of the tooth. If they have a wart that
can be removed easily, you know, don't. You can't leave
it on them until it starts causing a problem, you hop,
because then they start chilling and licking, and you know,
then you end up a problem. So I mean, as
soon as you notice something, if you can, you need
to get a taken care of right away because when
(30:48):
they're older, those things all seem to cause problems.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Excellent advice, you know.
Speaker 10 (30:53):
Do you just have to stay on top of them.
I mean, yes, I have a lot of dogs here,
but we look at every dog here has physical will
contact daily, you know, so you're you examine them and
you look at them. You know, we have them on
the schedule, you know, like every Wednesday we do nails, ears,
and teeth on every dog in the kennel. You know,
you have to stay on top of it because they
(31:14):
you know, they can get your infections they can get,
you know, tooth problems.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Right.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
That's why I think once you find something that works,
and you know not not the same thing might not
work on every single dog. But you know, we've had
a lot of luck keeping all of ours on the
same thing. You know, we have exceptions and a routine exercise,
you know. I mean it's just like a human beings,
you know, and eat ice cream every day, You're gonna
get heavy. If you don't, you probably won't get as heavy.
(31:42):
So you know, you can only do what you can do.
But I think keeping them on a routine deady diets,
cut out all the table food. You know, JR. Has
eaten dry dog food since he was a puppy. Yeah,
he still eats it dry works very well. You know.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
For fram what about Stump, what's his uh? What is
his diet consist of? Are they they have this kind
of the same diet.
Speaker 10 (32:07):
Yeah, they're both plumb exactly the same diet, are they? Well?
I feed Parina per plan shredded chicken and rice, and
some of them eat it wet and some of them
eat it just dry.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
I'm the same Also, couldn't agree more with Miko.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
He's on dry food.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
He's the same exercide of routine on a daily basis.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
So I agree on the consistency.
Speaker 10 (32:28):
There's some dogs that you know, you may have to
entice them to eat more. You know, you may have
to add cottage cheese, you may have to add some
canned dog food. You know, it just depends on the
dogs eating habits. You know.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So Scott got to ask you, did j R. Or Stump?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Did they get any type of endorsement deals after their
wind especially Stump after you know, making history. Is it
kind of like an athlete endorsements or or not?
Speaker 10 (32:55):
No? No, not really, They just they didn't do anything
like that. They you know, went to some places and
they go to you know, they went to do some
like therapy stuff and went to some grand openings of
some buildings and went to the grand opening of the
new Parina building, TV shows and a lot of functions
(33:16):
here in Houston. That anything that they can attend or
that we can take them to, we we try to
because they both like doing it. You know, they've gone
to like rescue organizations, They've gone to charity fundraisers, you know,
stuff like that. Although they've been to like m. D
Anderson to visit the kids and that was fun, you know, nothing,
nothing outrageous.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Yeah, So bottom line, they were asked to.
Speaker 10 (33:39):
Go to a lot of places of which we really
couldn't get them there, you know, and they're there. You know,
we really didn't want to keep pushing. We didn't want
to push him and take them all over the place.
So you know, he can go to place. He goes
to places locally.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
So a typical day though for for these former Best
in Show winners, what would that entail?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Just being dogs?
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Huh?
Speaker 10 (33:59):
Yeah, just being normal dogs. Sleep like normal dogs, run around,
go to bed, sleep on the bed. You know, it's
the same life they had when they were being shown,
so it's not really all that different for them. You know,
if I leave the house in the morning, you know JR.
Does not want to stay home. He wants to go.
So you open the back door and he runs to
the car and you open the door and he jumps
(34:19):
in the car. It's where he wants to go, it's
where he likes it. There's a lot of action here
all day long, and you know, they get to see
all the people and they like it.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
They like people.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
They're social, they're very sociable, very much so well, Scott, thank.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
And it was just such a pleasure hearing what it's
like to live with two Best in Show winners and
to know that senior dogs, you know, they are still
very much a part of society and really brightened up
a lot of people's lives, especially Stump when he won
when he was a senior dog.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
What is next for you?
Speaker 10 (35:00):
I have a whole bunch of younger dogs that we've
been showing that we will show it Westminster and hopefully
they'll do well. And other than that, my daily routine
hasn't changed much either, and take care of the dogs
and go to dog shows every weekend.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And will Stump in JR? Are they just kind of
did they just watch Westminster on television?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Or do they go with you to New York?
Speaker 10 (35:21):
Every year they've gone. Jr. Has gone the last couple
of years. Again, they have a little charity events that
they go to, so you know, they've been going the
last couple of years. I don't know if they'll go
again this year because it's just hard. We get to
fly in there. It's it's difficult because we have all
the other dogs we actually have to show so sometimes
(35:43):
it's more difficult to get them there.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I bet it is flying.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
I bet would be very interesting.
Speaker 10 (35:50):
They let Stump walk on the aeroplane, so he goes
on the plane with us, and Jr. Goes in a
Sirco bag under the feat. So you know, those two good.
But I also have lother dogs that I have to
take you with us. But it just depends on how
many dogs you have to show that I can get
them here or not.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Well, Scott, thank you so much from joining us from
the kennel at Champions in Houston, Texas. Can you do
me a favor? Can you give Jr? And Stump of
belly erbs for me?
Speaker 10 (36:19):
Well too?
Speaker 4 (36:21):
All right, thanks so much, we really appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
And then in this edition of Sassey Seniors on pet
Life Radio, you can also join me. I have columns
daily on my website RF dot com. That's double A R,
double F dot com. Don't forget to celebrate senior pets
every day.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
Thanks so much for joining us. You guys have a
good one.
Speaker 6 (36:45):
Let's talk pets every week on demand only on Petlife
Radio dot com.
Speaker 4 (37:01):
You a
Bet you are listening to Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
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Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hello everyone, I'm Kelly Jackson and welcome to another edition
of Sasey Seniors. So happy that you could join us today.
We have a fabulous guest. Of course, we always have
fabulous guests. But before we get started, the month of
November is such a special month for senior pets. It
is national Adopt a c your Pet Month. Whoop whoop.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
So this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Before we get started. I'm going to give you ten
quick reasons to adopt an older dog. Number one, older
dogs are house strained, so you don't have to go
through all those stages of you know, teaching them the
house manners. Number two, older dogs aren't teething anymore, so
guess what.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
They won't chew your shoes or your furniture.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Number three, older dogs can focus because they're a little
more mellow. Older dogs have learned what no means.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Number five.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Older dogs settle in easily because they've learned. Hey, they
know what it takes to get along with other people,
become a part of a pack.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Number six.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Older dogs they're so good at giving a loving home.
Once they get into a new loving home, they are
so grateful for the second chance.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Seven.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
What you see is what you get. Unlike puppies, we
love older dogs. They've kind of grown into their personality.
Number eight. Older dogs are constant companions. Hey, they're ready
to go to the grocery store with the you on
heights and any other.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Things you like to do.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Number nine. Older dogs leave you time for yourself. And finally,
number ten, the top reason to adopt an older dog.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
They let you get a good night's sleep.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So let's hear it for the older dogs National Adopt
a Senior Pet Month. And if you are looking to
adopt a dog, consider adopting an older dog because they
are often some of the last dogs to be adopted
when you go to animal shelters. So tell that to you,
your family, and all your friends. Adopt an older dog.
We're going to be right back with Scott Summer.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
He is the owner and handler of.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Not one but two Best in Show Westminster Dog Show winners.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 6 (02:50):
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Speaker 6 (05:18):
Let's Talk Pets on Petlife Radio dot Com.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Welcome back everyone to this edition of Sassy Seniors. My
guest today is Scott Summer.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Remember Jr.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
That cute little fluffy Beshon PRIs who won two thousand
and one Best in Show and Stump. He's the oldest
dog to ever win Westminster Dog Show.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Scott is the owner.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And handler of both of them, and he is our
guest today. Hello Scott, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 10 (05:57):
Hello how are you?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I'm fine?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
How are you good?
Speaker 10 (06:00):
Thanks?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Now you live in Houston.
Speaker 10 (06:02):
Right, yes, I do, Houston, Texas and.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You have a kennel It's called the Kennel at Champions
in Houston, Texas.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Yes, so you keep very busy.
Speaker 10 (06:10):
We're very busy all the time. It was a lot
of dogs here.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
You know what, As I was just saying, one of
the best wins I think in Westminster history was seen
when j R. Won the two thousand and one Best
in Show? Is he always like that?
Speaker 10 (06:30):
Well, he's going to be thirteen years old here in
December and he has slowed down some, but he's still
quite active and very much like you saw on TV.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
So he was he was around three years old when
he won. Then, Yes, what's it like to be the
owner of not one, but two Best in Show winners?
Speaker 10 (06:49):
It's great, you know, I mean I show dogs. I'm
a dog handler, so it's you know, one of the
most prestigious wins you can have, and to win it
once is great, but winning it twice was just you know, incredible,
and it was it was It's just you know, it's
just your dream. You know, when you show dogs, it's
your dream. It's like playing football winning the Super Bowl.
(07:11):
You know, It's that's what they want, that's their dream.
That's what it's. That's kind of the only way I
can compare it.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Oh my goodness. Well, first I want to talk about JR.
Since he won first the beeanfre Se. Do you think
that because he was so excited and happy, do you
think that he actually kind of knew that something was
going on in his honor that night when he won.
Speaker 10 (07:32):
When I first started showing JR. I think the very
first dog shot I ever showed him and he went
best in cell, and you know, you get excited because
they're winning, and well, you know, they it goes right
down the lead to the dog and they saw a
sense that they know something good just happened. And in
Jr's case, sometimes he anticipated us to win. Whether we
(07:56):
won or lost, he kind of just thought, we want,
you know, and I would you know, you always encourage
them because you want them. You know. It's it's there's
a lot of dog shows in the year, so you
do everything you can to keep them up and happy.
And you know, we go to you know, one hundred
and thirty dog shows or one hundred and forty dog
(08:20):
shows a year, you know, so that that having that
attitude like that and that you know, boldness of his
personality just made it all the better for him.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
I know, I'm taking you back a few years still.
Had he made it to Westminster prior to his two
thousand and one win.
Speaker 10 (08:37):
Yeah, the first year I showed him there, he went
second in the non sporting group behind another dog was
the number one dog in the country, which was I
think at which I believe was a standard poodle, And
we got second in the group that year, and then
we did we kind of showed them so, you know,
we really didn't show them a whole lot that year.
We focused more on the next year. We've just show
(08:58):
them every single weekend just about.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
So obviously he was born to be a show dog.
Speaker 10 (09:05):
Quite the personality.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
How much did his life and your life change prior
to winning? Because was that the first time you had
had a dog who had won Best in Show.
Speaker 10 (09:17):
That's the first time I personally have had a dog
that I, you know, showed and went Best in Show.
I worked for another handler. I worked for handler named
Michael Kemp, and he went Best in Show with a
wire fox terrier named Lonesome Doves, which was you know,
I was pretty attached to the dog and I actually
you know, she was born here at the Canal and
(09:39):
we raised her, and you know, so that was my
first experience. You know, I was just a caretaker of
the dog basically. But that was great to win, and
then to go on and win it with JR. Was
just fantastic, and then then to have Stump win was just,
you know, absolutely incredible. It's been a very large surprise.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
How much did your life change then or after JR
One and Jr's life too, or did he just go
back to being a dog?
Speaker 10 (10:13):
Well, and I wouldn't say our lives changed. I mean
he just you know, he does the same thing today
that he did when he was a show dog. You know,
he lives at my house and comes to work with
me every morning and goes home with me every night.
It's the same. He's the same routine that he was
in when he was actively being shown, just you know
a little different. He doesn't like to be on the
(10:35):
grimming table for hours at a time, so I don't
keep his hair as long. You know, he still gets
his weekly as and still gets his teeth cleaned every week,
and gets his nails done every week, and all the
same things he'd had when we were showing him. You know,
he still does all that today.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Well he's still pretty high maintenance.
Speaker 10 (10:52):
Then, yeah, any dog to have with hair like that
if you want to look like it's breathed. You know,
it's there to be maintenance. You know, you have to
keep them trimmed and keep them baths, and then they
seem to last a lot longer.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Of course, I'm thinking of the movie Best in Show.
I mean, how is it? Can you kind of give
us an inside look on the lives of training a
dog to go to Westminster? I know it must be expensive,
must be very time consuming, is it.
Speaker 10 (11:23):
Yeah, you're not comparing to the movie Best No? No, no, okay,
all right, it's no. It's a very It's a lot
of work. You know, I get to the kennel that
we get to the kennel around six o'clock in the morning.
We work twelve hours a day every day, like anybody
preparing to like an athlete. When you're selling a dog,
it's it's that much work you have to do. It's
(11:45):
daily routine exercise, you know, taking care of their coats perfectly.
Their weights have to be perfect. You know, they can't
be skinny, they can't be too heavy. From that standpoint
of a lot of work goes into it. From that.
As far as the spence, you know, it can be expensive.
You know, there's a lot of stuff that you have
to do. The show dogs. You know, there's entry fees
(12:06):
and the owners have to pay the handlers to show
their dogs. And you know, most I guess a lot
of handlers are in the same price bracket. There's expenses involved,
which you know, if you you know a lot of
people do it differently, or you can divide the expenses
amongst all the dogs you take to the dog show.
Other than that, you know, there's a you know, our
(12:27):
daily boarding fee, there's grooming fees or maintenance fees. It
just depends on the type of bug and kind of
what you have to do to it.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
So let me ask you this. So if I, okay,
if someone had just a regular, you know, house dog,
could they make that into a show dog or do
you think show dogs are bred?
Speaker 6 (12:48):
No.
Speaker 10 (12:48):
I have a lot of dogs that I show that
live locally, that go home, you know, during the week,
and then come here to the kennel on you let's
say a Thursday. If we're going to leave on Friday,
the dog will come on Thursday and we bathe it
and do its nails and get it all fixed up
and take it with us and then we come home.
They'll either come pick it up, or if they come
(13:09):
to the dog show, they'll take the dog home with
them Sunday after the show's over. You know, you can.
There's a lot We have a boarding kennel and we
do pet grooming. We have a lot of dogs that
are in a modified look to what they would look
like if they went to a dog show.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
How many years have you been showing dogs?
Speaker 10 (13:27):
I showed my first dog when I was five years old, No,
forty seven.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Now you've been doing it almost all of your.
Speaker 10 (13:35):
Life pretty much. Yeah. My parents bred smooth Fox terriers
and it was just like a like a hobby for
my mother. And I'm the only one of the six
kids that got involved with them in a big way.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
So obviously Westminster's is like the super Bowl of dog shows.
Speaker 10 (13:57):
Yeah, well it's the second oldest sport events behind the
Kentucky Derby. So you know, it's been a lot of
tradition behind Westminster. You know, winning that that it's just
you're just part of a real old tradition and it's
just great to be part of it.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
And I'm assuming you know when you were a little
boy at five, maybe you thought, oh, I don't know
if you thought that at that age that you wanted
to make it the Westminster. But was that something that
you know you wanted to do when you were at
that young of an age.
Speaker 10 (14:28):
Yeah, I used to have practice dog shows in my
front yard the ball My friends would come over and
we'd have all my mother's dogs out there. You know
this is not when I was five. Maybe when I
was like eight, we got practice dog shows and we
make believe we're getting all the dogs ready to go
and show them in the ring and run around the
drive yard or the driveway or whatever like we were at
a dog show. Yeah, I mean it was It's as
(14:50):
soon as I knew what it was, that I knew
it was something I always wanted to do. I mean
I've never never had even a thought that I wanted
to do anything else. Wow, even today, I wouldn't. I
would not change anything about what I do.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Well, you've been there many times, and who knows. You
think you'll go back with another dog.
Speaker 10 (15:10):
Well, all you can do is go and try. Yeah,
you know you can have It's a funny dog show
because you can have the greatest dog in the world
that can have a bad day that day and you
might lose.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Well, I was going to ask you that was my
follow up question, if you ever had a dog just say,
you know what, I am not feeling it today and
just didn't do their best. I mean, what's been like
the most embarrassing moment for you with a dog during
a dog show?
Speaker 10 (15:38):
Well, you know they are they are dogs. They are
going to make mistakes, and everybody's had more than their
share of those things happen. Most embarrassing moment at a
dog show, I guess has to be I had a
becheon that I showed the same type of dog as Jr.
That pulled its head out of the leash in the rain,
(15:58):
and it took us about fifteen minutes to catch her
inside the things. She never left the rings, just ran
around the ring playing. So that that is pretty embarrassing.
But you know they do. They have off days, and
when you show them weekly like we do, you know,
when you're in their show and the dog there's even
the slightest little thing wrong. You know, maybe it just
(16:20):
has didn't sleep well that night, or just you just
know they're a little off, or you know anything. You know,
they all have their moments.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
So when you guys are feeding, you know when you
give those I always see you guys, you know during
the dog shows giving them the little treat.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
What are you giving them that? Are they like liver
treats or something?
Speaker 10 (16:38):
Liver treats are good or it can be chicken or
you know when you some of those breeds that you
see in the ring that have to stand there with
their ears up all the time, like Doberman's and boxers
and those kind of dogs. I mean, sometimes you have
to change what you use because they kind of get
bored with the same thing, you know, So you have
maybe you'll do chicken, or if you go out and
(16:59):
have stay spinner, maybe you have steak leftover and that
whatever you have. Some doms like toys, Some dogs like
squeaky toys. Someones like balls, and you just go and
take within mail with whatever works for that particular dog.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Okay, we're gonna take a short little break, and when
we come back, we're gonna talk about Stump, who is
just he made history not once but twice at Westminster
back in two thousand and nine. So it's gonna be
all about Stump. After the break, we'll be right back,
you guys, We'll be right.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
Back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
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Speaker 3 (19:28):
Let's Talk Past.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Let's done past about radio headline.
Speaker 11 (19:32):
Radio at Life Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Welcome back everyone to Sasey Seniors. My guest today Scott Summer,
the owner and handler of two Best in Show winners
two thousand and one Jr. Which stands for Scott.
Speaker 10 (20:00):
Just Right and Champion Special Times just Right.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Okay, and Stump who won in two thousand and nine.
And what a Stump's real name or birth name?
Speaker 10 (20:12):
I should say it's Champion Classics, three D, Grinchy Glee.
And how he got his name? I have no idea.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I was going to ask you why do they have
such long birth names?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I don't understand that.
Speaker 10 (20:27):
Well. The first part of the name is normally the
kennel that bred the dog, So three D or Classics
is one kennel name, and three D is another kennel name.
So two different people bred his mother, so that's what
the classics, and then the three D those are the
two kennels where he came from? And then Grinchy Glee
(20:50):
I think was I don't know where they came up
with that name. I never asked them that question. But
that's his name.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Well, Stump obviously if you look at him, it's easy.
It's a given why he is named Stump. He has
some perfect Yeah, he has those cute little legs.
Speaker 10 (21:07):
Yep, short stumpy little legs and a stumpy little body.
And I think his name is perfect.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
It is. So.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
He is celebrating a birthday next month, right, how old
will he be?
Speaker 10 (21:18):
Stump will be twelve in December and Jr. Will be thirteen.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Oh if they both have a birthday in December, yes,
oh wow, we're going to be partying at your house.
Speaker 10 (21:27):
Then, yeah, you will have a big, big party first
Stump and Jil. Yes, they normally they normally have those
little small cakes. We normally do normally have those.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Have they been together since they were young?
Speaker 8 (21:40):
Then?
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Have they lived together as.
Speaker 10 (21:41):
Housemaids since they were? Jr. Was probably four and Stump
was three?
Speaker 4 (21:48):
So maybe Jr.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Kind of showed him the ropes of how a show
dog really lives.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Huh.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Maybe he gave him a few pointers.
Speaker 10 (21:56):
Yeah, I always say to all of the dogs here
the cannel when we go to the Doubshall, I'll say
things to unlike you know that when Jr. Starts balking
or something that we're getting ready to leave, and I'll say,
he's just telling him not to let the family name down.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
So I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Well, take us back. Two thousand and four, Stump actually
almost died, right.
Speaker 10 (22:19):
Yes, he was had a something spread like a poison
offer his entire body, and it basically like shut all
of his organs down, and his heart was working at
less than five percent, and every time they would go
to treat him with certain things, another part of his
another organ would start failing. So that lasted for almost
(22:40):
nineteen days that he lived at the A and M
University for nineteen days, and he was an oxygen tanks.
He had temperature of a one hundred and five. You know,
for like days and days nothing seemed to work.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
So then what happened?
Speaker 4 (22:57):
How did something worked?
Speaker 10 (22:58):
Obviously a combination and it's they just had a slight turnaround,
and from that point everything kept going forward. You know,
we somebody from here, somebody that he knew well, went
there every single day and we'd sit with them, visit
with them. You know, it was just they think that
(23:19):
all of that was important because it kind of gave
them a reason to keep going.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
It's amazing how how humans and pets are so similar
in that respect.
Speaker 10 (23:29):
You know, oh, definitely, but I think that it's it
was a very strange thing. He was great one day.
The next day and this is before he actually went
into the vat. He was fine one day, the next
day he was He didn't eat, which was totally not normal. So,
you know, we did all the basic things that you
would do. You know, we just checked this temperature and
(23:51):
you know, looked at them and you know, tried to
figure out if there was something wrong, and then he
just started to get a little quiet, really quiet, and
then we just took in the vet that same day
and he was at the actual vest office here in
Houston for just a couple of days, and then we
transferred him to the A and M right away because
we realized that, you know, everybody knew something serious was
(24:14):
getting happening. You just have to be try to be
as the head of the game as possible. You can't
wait too long. And if you had waited any longer,
we would have had more problems.
Speaker 8 (24:25):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Well, obviously we're so happy that things worked out because
they really worked out for Stump because he came back
guns pause blazing, and he took that Westminster two thousand
and nine.
Speaker 10 (24:39):
He's still exactly the same he Actually, I think he
looks better now than has ever looked in his entire life.
His coat looks great, his his I mean, he's just
he looks fantastic. You could show him again right now today.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Well, let's ask you. That's my follow up question. He's
retired though, right or.
Speaker 10 (24:56):
He'll he'll never be shown again.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (25:00):
Yeah, once you win that Westminster, that's kind of there's
nothing else for you to do. There's nothing else for
you to prove than the twelve years old exactly, nothing
more for him to go out and try to do.
If if I had a dog and it was the
only show I ever showed that and it went best
in Joe, I would retire reguardless, even if it was
three years old. It's the biggest thing they can len.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Well, he had two things that you would think would
not be in his favor. A he was ten years
old and he is a Sussex Spaniel, correct And that
Breta's never won. Yes, that's true show and you guys
beat the odds.
Speaker 10 (25:38):
Yeah it was. You know. It was the reason why
he went there is because while when Stimp was being shown,
he was honed by Cecilia Ruggles and beat down because
he had made such a he was in such a
condition and he had looked so good. They said, you know,
we should try showing him somewhere once again, just to
show them. Nobody was expecting him to win. We thought,
(26:00):
you know, if he could place in that sporting group
or even just win the breed that he that would
be great. And they just wanted to see him walk
around leg and his tail again like that one more time.
And to be honest with you, that's exactly all we
really expected. Then. To go in there and frg him
to go best and show, it was just, I mean,
just made it a lot more fun. First of all,
(26:22):
because now my name I was an owner of him
and he's lived with me, and you know, he'd gone
through all his problems and to take him there, and
he had won the Sporting group four years prior to that,
so he made it invest in show, but he didn't
go best in Show and taken there and to have
him win that it was just such a surprise that
(26:42):
it was just.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
You know, incredible, It was incredible.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I was watching it and after that it puts older
pets on the map, It really did.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
Scott.
Speaker 10 (26:54):
I think older dogs are great, you know. I mean
there's a lot of dogs that we you know, I
raise certain breeds for certain clients of mine, and it's
there's a lot of dogs that are older or dogs
that we keep for different reasons, and you know, they
could be you know, three years old or four years old.
(27:16):
And when they go when they're placed with people, they
seem to bond really quick with people because they just
get so much to pension just from one individual person.
And you know, like you said earlier, there's a lot
of there's a lot of processes to having an older
dog because you do cut out a lot of the
(27:37):
stages that you have to go through with a puppy.
I mean, it's just like having hopefully you're a child
under fifteen, they're going to make mistakes and do things,
and hopefully you're a child at twenty five, they're been
making the same mistakes you have, so they have a
way to compare them. I mean I don't do the
same things. When I was at ten years old, I
(27:58):
did things different than I do now that I'm forty seven, right,
So yeah, I think there's a lot of good about
older dogs. And I think that I know all of
the older dogs, whether they were we normally if we
have a let's say I have besons that I breed
for Missus Ruggles. You know, we normally breed them once
twice and then some of them will go they to
(28:18):
go live with Missus Ruggles at our house and other
other dogs we've placed in homes where they just become
someone's pet and you know, their spade or nuded and
they just go live with people. And I think there's
a rare occasion. I mean, I have jar and twelve
years old that still does things that someone's three month
old puppy would do. Yeah, but other you know that
(28:39):
he's a rare occasion in that department. In my opinion, Yes,
some stuff would never dream of chewing something up. That's
where JR would definitely choose something up.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
JR still has a lot of pepin as step.
Speaker 10 (28:52):
Oh yeah, very much.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
So.
Speaker 10 (28:56):
I mean, if it's mine and I leave it somewhere,
will try to do something to it. But that's just
the way he's always been ever he was a little puppy,
and he's still the same way. I just think that
having an older dog is great for a lot of people,
you know, I would recommend them to a lot of people.
(29:17):
Opposed to a puppy.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
I would too.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Let me ask you when I was talking to you yesterday,
you had mentioned that really you have raised Jr. And Stump,
who are now in eleven and well who will be
really next month thirteen and twelve. They are still pretty
much the same diet that you gave them when they
were younger, because they look so good. So what is
(29:40):
the secret? Do you care for your senior pets any
differently than you did when they were younger?
Speaker 10 (29:45):
Now? I think that that dogs are to be on
a routine of somewhat, and I think that you have
to find a food that works and you use that
all the time unless there's some reason to change. And
I think that they're that they do better when they
stay on the same diet. I think exercise is really important.
(30:06):
Keeping their teeth clean is important their years. I mean,
every part of maintaining the glooming is very important. You know,
whether it be a smooth coated dog or a lung
coated dog. Keeping them bathed and clean keeps their skin better.
And you can't let things go, you know, like if
they have a bad tooth, you need to take care
(30:26):
of the tooth. You can't wait a year and take
care of the tooth. If they have a wart that
can be removed easily, you know, don't. You can't leave
it on them until it starts causing a problem, you hop,
because then they start chilling and licking, and you know,
then you end up a problem. So I mean, as
soon as you notice something, if you can, you need
to get a taken care of right away because when
(30:48):
they're older, those things all seem to cause problems.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Excellent advice, you know.
Speaker 10 (30:53):
Do you just have to stay on top of them.
I mean, yes, I have a lot of dogs here,
but we look at every dog here has physical will
contact daily, you know, so you're you examine them and
you look at them. You know, we have them on
the schedule, you know, like every Wednesday we do nails, ears,
and teeth on every dog in the kennel. You know,
you have to stay on top of it because they
(31:14):
you know, they can get your infections they can get,
you know, tooth problems.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Right.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
That's why I think once you find something that works,
and you know not not the same thing might not
work on every single dog. But you know, we've had
a lot of luck keeping all of ours on the
same thing. You know, we have exceptions and a routine exercise,
you know. I mean it's just like a human beings,
you know, and eat ice cream every day, You're gonna
get heavy. If you don't, you probably won't get as heavy.
(31:42):
So you know, you can only do what you can do.
But I think keeping them on a routine deady diets,
cut out all the table food. You know, JR. Has
eaten dry dog food since he was a puppy. Yeah,
he still eats it dry works very well. You know.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
For fram what about Stump, what's his uh? What is
his diet consist of? Are they they have this kind
of the same diet.
Speaker 10 (32:07):
Yeah, they're both plumb exactly the same diet, are they? Well?
I feed Parina per plan shredded chicken and rice, and
some of them eat it wet and some of them
eat it just dry.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
I'm the same Also, couldn't agree more with Miko.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
He's on dry food.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
He's the same exercide of routine on a daily basis.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
So I agree on the consistency.
Speaker 10 (32:28):
There's some dogs that you know, you may have to
entice them to eat more. You know, you may have
to add cottage cheese, you may have to add some
canned dog food. You know, it just depends on the
dogs eating habits. You know.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So Scott got to ask you, did j R. Or Stump?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Did they get any type of endorsement deals after their
wind especially Stump after you know, making history. Is it
kind of like an athlete endorsements or or not?
Speaker 10 (32:55):
No? No, not really, They just they didn't do anything
like that. They you know, went to some places and
they go to you know, they went to do some
like therapy stuff and went to some grand openings of
some buildings and went to the grand opening of the
new Parina building, TV shows and a lot of functions
(33:16):
here in Houston. That anything that they can attend or
that we can take them to, we we try to
because they both like doing it. You know, they've gone
to like rescue organizations, They've gone to charity fundraisers, you know,
stuff like that. Although they've been to like m. D
Anderson to visit the kids and that was fun, you know, nothing,
nothing outrageous.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Yeah, So bottom line, they were asked to.
Speaker 10 (33:39):
Go to a lot of places of which we really
couldn't get them there, you know, and they're there. You know,
we really didn't want to keep pushing. We didn't want
to push him and take them all over the place.
So you know, he can go to place. He goes
to places locally.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
So a typical day though for for these former Best
in Show winners, what would that entail?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Just being dogs?
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Huh?
Speaker 10 (33:59):
Yeah, just being normal dogs. Sleep like normal dogs, run around,
go to bed, sleep on the bed. You know, it's
the same life they had when they were being shown,
so it's not really all that different for them. You know,
if I leave the house in the morning, you know JR.
Does not want to stay home. He wants to go.
So you open the back door and he runs to
the car and you open the door and he jumps
(34:19):
in the car. It's where he wants to go, it's
where he likes it. There's a lot of action here
all day long, and you know, they get to see
all the people and they like it.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
They like people.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
They're social, they're very sociable, very much so well, Scott, thank.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
And it was just such a pleasure hearing what it's
like to live with two Best in Show winners and
to know that senior dogs, you know, they are still
very much a part of society and really brightened up
a lot of people's lives, especially Stump when he won
when he was a senior dog.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
What is next for you?
Speaker 10 (35:00):
I have a whole bunch of younger dogs that we've
been showing that we will show it Westminster and hopefully
they'll do well. And other than that, my daily routine
hasn't changed much either, and take care of the dogs
and go to dog shows every weekend.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And will Stump in JR? Are they just kind of
did they just watch Westminster on television?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Or do they go with you to New York?
Speaker 10 (35:21):
Every year they've gone. Jr. Has gone the last couple
of years. Again, they have a little charity events that
they go to, so you know, they've been going the
last couple of years. I don't know if they'll go
again this year because it's just hard. We get to
fly in there. It's it's difficult because we have all
the other dogs we actually have to show so sometimes
(35:43):
it's more difficult to get them there.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I bet it is flying.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
I bet would be very interesting.
Speaker 10 (35:50):
They let Stump walk on the aeroplane, so he goes
on the plane with us, and Jr. Goes in a
Sirco bag under the feat. So you know, those two good.
But I also have lother dogs that I have to
take you with us. But it just depends on how
many dogs you have to show that I can get
them here or not.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Well, Scott, thank you so much from joining us from
the kennel at Champions in Houston, Texas. Can you do
me a favor? Can you give Jr? And Stump of
belly erbs for me?
Speaker 10 (36:19):
Well too?
Speaker 4 (36:21):
All right, thanks so much, we really appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
And then in this edition of Sassey Seniors on pet
Life Radio, you can also join me. I have columns
daily on my website RF dot com. That's double A R,
double F dot com. Don't forget to celebrate senior pets
every day.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
Thanks so much for joining us. You guys have a
good one.
Speaker 6 (36:45):
Let's talk pets every week on demand only on Petlife
Radio dot com.
Speaker 4 (37:01):
You a
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