Mark Threlfall, executive vice president of the United Kennel Club, was an exceptional professional handler who piloted hundreds of dogs to their American Kennel Club Championships. Apprenticed by renowned all-breed professional handlers Jane and Robert Forsyth (now AKC all-breed judges) and the late William Trainor, Threlfall handled dogs from every Group to Best-in-Show wins, including Ch. Salilyn’s Condor, the English Springer Spaniel, who was No. 1 All Breeds and went on to win Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1993.
Q:How did you get your start in dogs?
A: My start in dogs was, in a word, serendipitous. I was 16 years old, had just gotten my driver’s license and wanted a car of my own more than anything. David Whitney, a young man who sat behind me in my homeroom class, heard I was looking for an after-school job. He said that the kennel where he worked needed help and that I should apply there. That day after school, I became the newest employee of the Harmo Kennels of Anna (Mosher) Boardman. The rest, as they say, is history.
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