Want a local rooting interest in the “Super Bowl of dog shows,” the Westminster Kennel Club show? In tonight’s finale in Madison Square Garden, root for the Akita. Ch. Redwitch Reason To Believe (known to her friends as Macey) will be taken into Best In Show competition by Laurie Jordan-Fenner, part of an Elk Grove family of professional handers.
If the team takes the top prize, it arguably won’t be the biggest win for this family. Last year, Larry Fenner handled an Australian shepherd to Best In Show over more than 20,000 other dogs (Westminster is limited to 2,500 because The Garden is a relative tiny venue) at the four-day English canine entravaganza known as Crufts.
The Jordan-Fenner clan may be local, but Macey comes from a British line of Akitas who have won big all over the world. Her win in the Working Group last night makes her only the second Akita in the show’s history to advance to the final seven.
Update: Make that two locals. Larry Fenner won the Herding group with Bouvier des Flandres. But neither dog took Best in Show.
The Sac Rag 