2005

The year 2005 opened with a report on plans for the 2005 Morris & Essex show to be held in October. The 2005 Dogs in Review Annual issue, featuring on the cover Kit Woodruff’s Pekingese Ch. Yakee If Only, was the biggest issue of DR ever at 648 pages. While the Annual’s Top Dogs article reported that the Tim Brazier-handled, Sosnoff-owned Toy Poodle, Ch. North Well Chako JP Platina King, was Top Dog for 2004, DR cover boy ‘Jeffrey’ the Peke, handled as always by David Fitzpatrick, would become 2005’s Number 1 dog of all breeds.  The Annual also included part one of three on the sport’s Dog Show Photographers as well as an interview by Bo Bengtson and Paul Lepiane with Pat Craige Trotter, and  Kerrin Winter-Churchill’s piece on Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge. This gigantic Annual issue included 23 professional handler sections.

In May DR presented the usual judges’ critiques from and coverage of Westminster, where the German Shorthaired Pointer Ch. Kan-Points VJK Autumn Roses had triumphed in February in the capable hands of Michelle Ostermiller. The Winkies™ for Annual Achievement had been awarded to Anne Rogers Clark as Judge of the Year, Bill McFadden as Best Professional Handler, Wendell Sammet as Best Breeder-Owner-Handler and the Kennel Club of Palm Springs as Show of the Year. The May issue also included memorials to Ray McGinnis and Jack Dougherty, and in June DR said good-bye to Jack Potts. There was more loss for the sport, however; in the July issue Bo Bengtson reported on the passing of talented and beloved photographer Missy Yuhl in late April, long-time breeder and devotee to the sport Mrs. Philip S. P. Fell in May, and Sporting judge Bill Dwelly also in May. In the September issue Karen Black offered a tribute to fellow Saluki breeder Sally Bell, while the magazine also reported on the passing of judge Dr. Bernard Esporite and on the untimely and tragic loss of Kathy Reges.

Unfortunately there was more tragedy in store for the country when Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast in the fall; the October issue of DR reported on the beginning  support efforts of AKC and others in the tragedy that would overwhelm all others in this nation’s history. DR also included news of the sad loss of AKC Board member and judge Dr. Asa Mays, and judge and DR friend and supporter Bill Mott. The October issue also reported the almost-surreal news that an American Afghan Hound had been cloned in South Korea.

In the November issue came a glowing report on the second Morris & Essex show of the modern era, with Best in Show awarded to Colored Bull Terrier Ch. Rocky Tops Sundance Kid.  The December issue brought coverage of October’s Montgomery County all-Terrier classic where respected British judge Mrs. Ferelith Somerfield found her Best in Show winner in the veteran Smooth Fox Terrier, Ch. Pennfox Trackways Wicked Brew, owner-handled by Liz Tobin and of course co-owned by Joe Vaudo. This Breeders issue included an educational Breeders Forum that included the likes of Cindy Vogels of the Andover Terriers, Dr. Afton Lucas of Srinagar Salukis, Sally Barton of Coralwood Pointers, Michelle Santana of Foxfire Dobermans, Wendy and Amanda Kelly of Fwaggles Toy Manchesters, Nancy McDonald of Barksdale Collies, Sylvia Hammarstrom of Skansen Schnauzers, Liz Tobin of Bluestone Smooth Fox Terriers and Michael Allen of Baliwick Cockers, who each shared their expertise on the subject of choosing, socializing, training and showing puppies.

Bo Bengtson also announced in Opening Space in the December issue that he would have a new title in 2006, that of Editor-at-Large; he would be less involved in the day-to-day operation of DR, allowing him time to focus on interviews, research, and a book he had long aspired to write. Allan Reznik, for the previous several years Editor-in-Chief of Dog World, would step in as DR Editor-in-Chief in the new year.

And The Year 2006 Closes…

In early 2006 Dogs in Review brought news that the Colored Bull Terrier ‘Rufus,’ Ch. Rocky Tops Sundance Kid, had taken the top prize at Westminster, while the 2005 Winkies™ for Annual Achievement went to Michele Billings as Judge of the Year, Michelle Ostermiller as Best Professional Handler and Del Valle Dog Club as Show of the Year. The award of the previous year for Best Breeder-Owner Handler was more appropriately divided into awards for Outstanding Breeder and Best Owner Handler, and for 2005 the winners in those categories were David and Peggy Helming and Jere Marder, respectively. A great deal more news and educational information, and many more interviews, historical articles and other features were included in DR throughout 2006.

As I write this article we are closing the year 2006, a year in which Dogs in Review saw changes not anticipated at the close of 2005 — some which turned out to be very positive, some from which we will personally not easily recover. The year 2006 was the one in which DR celebrated its 10th year, and marked my eighth year as an Advertising Sales Representative for the magazine, including a move to California in early 2005 to assume the position of Sales Manager for DR in BowTie’s Southern California office. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and I had begun to feel that it was time for me to move on to “other things,” and anticipated leaving my beloved magazine in early 2005.  However, with the editor’s job vacant at the start of 2006, several key, trusted figures in the BowTie family persuaded me to try on the title and see how it fit; it turned out, to my surprise, to be quite a good fit and I am proud and delighted to be DR’s editor as 2006 closes.

Filling in on the sales side at the beginning of 2006 was Larry Rotondi, out of BowTie’s East Coast office. Early in the year long-time DR Sales Rep Cindy Chandler stepped out of her sales role and became a Breed Features editor for DR, putting her years of experience in the sport to use in that arena. DR sales reps Tammy Gincel and Carol Hamilton were then joined by long-time breeder, owner and professional handler Brian Cordova; all three of these individuals are valuable assets to the DR team in their own unique ways. The DR champion who was so instrumental in the magazine’s being melded into the BowTie family in the first few years, Greg Warne, was lost to us in a tragic accident in June. Larry Rotondi was unfortunately lost to complications from heart disease in August. In a final blow at the end of the year, one that affects not only this magazine but the sport of dogs as a whole, we lost Mrs. Clark just prior to Christmas. Although DR is now part of a larger corporate organization, those of us who work on and are devoted to the magazine are, still, a “family;” thus, this has been a very difficult year.

The strength of Dogs in Review lies in the strength of our team — those previously mentioned as well as Editor-at-Large Bo Bengtson, Editor-in-Chief Allan Reznik, Editorial Director June Kikuchi, Production Coordinator Leah Rosalez, Manager Laurie Panaggio, Managing Editor Donna Lycan, Editorial and Ad Designer Lenney Chester, Designer Edred Rivera, our support staff including Leslie Simon, Shirley Pittman and Gabe Giorgi, and our amazing team of contributing writers and editors, including Rick Beauchamp, Dawne Deeley, Clive Davies, Deb Eldredge, Kate Eldredge, Amy Fernandez, Dr. Jacky Hungerland, Amanda Kelly, Sue LeMieux, Paul Lepiane, Sid Marx, Simon Parsons, Paula Pascoe, Nikki Riggsbee, Kerrin Winter-Churchill and Sharon Sakson. We’ve all been inspired by what the friends we’ve lost envisioned for DR, and the magazine moves onward and upward. We look forward to the next ten years with eager anticipation.

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