Harry has won the Terrier Group at the Westminster Dog Show 2007 - three cheers for Harry and his team!

  Lovely video of Harry and Bill Cosby - Bill's humour is wonderful. It's a 3mb file but worth the wait to download and play it!

Harry Top Dog 2006 in the USA

Monday 12th February 2007 will see Harry compete at the famous Westminster Dog Show in New York. Unlike Crufts, this dog show only accepts entries from Champions and this year Harry is the only Dandie Dinmont Terrier entered. So if the Breed Judge approves, he will be our representative in the Terrier Group. The Show, a very glamorous and slick affair, has an excellent website with video clips of the judging posted very quickly.

Harry resembles a giant Q-tip?!

Naturally Harry is featuring largely in the US press at the moment and it does bring a smile as they try to find new descriptions for a Dandie Dinmont! The New York Times: "Harry, a 6-year-old Dandie Dinmont, is a cross between a Dachshund and a big-headed poodle with a bad haircut. His mug and manner delight Cosby, his co-owner" and the Patriot-News: "Cosby's presence won't matter much, because the dog (which resembles a giant Q-tip) owns the limelight". Inventive eh?

Emma, who is well known to you, handled Harry to incredible heights on the Australian Circuit before he arrived in America. No mean feat for a relatively unknown and unusual breed. 

Harry was exported to the States having 'caught the eye' and is now handled by Bill McFadden who is one of America's top handlers. Bill actually travelled to Australia to meet Harry before agreeing to handle him. We who know Dandies well just know that he is doing a stunning job with Harry who must still be the stubborn, independent and loveable character that all our Dandies are. The work they have done together 'at home' and the relationship they have built up shows in their incredible amount of wins. We also know that if Harry didn't enjoy it, Harry wouldn't do it - it's the nature of our Breed!

Show dogs are just pets that get to go to Dog Shows

Bill, a very experienced Terrier man, has in fact seen it all before. Not least with 'Mick' the British exported Kerry Blue Terrier Ch Torum's Scarf Michael whom he handled to Westminster Best in Show in 2003 and a quote from Bill in USA Today confirms his obvious love and care for the dogs he handles:

"I've always said that show dogs are just pets that get to go to dog shows, the ring is just a small part of their lives. People have a misconception that Best in Show winners are little porcelain dolls, that they're placed on a shelf when the competitions and campaigns are over. But that's just not true. They're very much dogs, and they're very much loved."

Sadly one of the co-owners, Bill Cosby didn't attend the Show this year - he thought he was a 'Westminster jinx!'. Affectionately known over here in the UK for the Cosby Show back in the 80s, Bill has a long history in dog owning and dog breeding. In fact the third co-owner, Captain Jean L Heath and Bill met at a naval hospital in the late 50s when he was her patient. Bill later became a physical therapy technician on Jean's staff and, years later, they became partners in the well known Black Watch affix producing 144 Black Watch Lakeland Terrier champions and 11 consecutive generations of Best in Show Lakelands. Not just confined to 'conformation' showing, their Kennel also produced a multiple all breed Best in Show winner who held 27 Agility Titles! Not just celebrity co-owners - true canine afficionados. [ed: these figures might have increased since the information was obtained]

So where does Harry live when he isn't travelling the circuit? He lives at Bill McF's home sharing a divided room with Mick the Kerry Blue. We are told that not long ago, when Bill had Harry on the lead in an airport lounge waiting for a flight, that a young boy ran up to them saying "That's the dog from the TV!". And what did Harry do? Turned upside down and had a cuddle of course - it's just what Dandies do isn't it?