WADSWORTH:
Teresa West-Holmes never had much luck training Bro for dog show competitions.
The 98-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback would act like — in her words — a goofball.
But that all changed when her 10-year-old daughter Emily was put in charge.
It turns out that the soft-spoken brunette girl who wants to grow up to be a veterinarian is a Bro whisperer.
Under Emily’s direction, the dog started listening and winning awards, including an American Kennel Club Grand Champion title.
They reached the pinnacle of their competition careers so far earlier this month, taking home a Best of Opposite Sex honor at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York. At least one other Akron-area dog won a Best of Opposite Sex award at the event. (See accompanying story.)
For their win, Emily and Bro received a ribbon and medal, which will go on display at their house.
“I was surprised,” Emily said this week during an interview in her living room with Bro sitting on a brown leather couch next to her. “I didn’t think I would do that well.”
As for why Bro, who just turned 2, pays attention to Emily, her mother has a theory.
“I think he likes you better,” said West-Holmes, a veterinary technician. “You’re his kid.”
Emily, who’s outweighed by about 25 pounds, admitted that she was plenty nervous to participate in the Westminster show because of the large audience and television cameras. Her main goal was just to have fun.
But now with one Westminster experience under her belt, Emily is excited about going back, with an eye on winning best of breed next time. (When the best of breed is selected, a dog of the opposite sex is chosen as the Best of Opposite Sex winner.)
Emily’s mother and father, Paul, are proud of her poise, given the fact that most dogs are accompanied by professional handlers.
Emily has been surrounded by dogs her whole life. West-Holmes has been showing them since 2002, starting with cockers.
But a Rhodesian Ridgeback “fell into their laps” years ago and the family has been focused on the breed ever since. They have five of them now and breed the dogs.
“They are like potato chips,” West-Holmes said. “You can’t have just one.”
The large breed, which has a ridge of hair on its back running opposite its coat, originated in southern Africa and is also known as an African lion hound.
It’s a mishmash of several breeds.
“Farmers wanted something that could protect the house, safe enough to play with the kids, herd the livestock, hunt upland game and be able to go out and traverse the countryside all day,” West-Holmes said.
The Rhodesian Ridgebacks also turned out to be good at tracking and cornering lions.
The breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1955.
West-Holmes described them as great companion dogs, even “oafy” to a degree.
The family makes sure that all their dogs get pop culture names.
Bro’s registered name is GCH CH Luvakis Shirley’s Legen-WaitForIt-Dary! Legendary! JC CGC, a reference to the TV show How I Met Your Mother. The family started calling him “Bro Code,” another famous reference from the show and then shortened that to just Bro.
His mother was Don’t Call Me Shirley, a reference to the Leslie Nielsen line from the Airplane! movie.
His father, Zero, won Best of Breed at Westminster in 2011.
Bro’s favorite snack, in case you were wondering, is beef hearts cooked on a George Foreman Grill.
Emily, a fifth-grader at Wadsworth Central Intermediate School whose favorite subject is math, said her classmates and friends aren’t impressed with her dog handling skills.
“They don’t really care about it,” she said.
Neither does her 5-year-old sister, Erin, who is more into cats and penguins.
Believe it or not, Emily, who participates in 4-H, believes she’s better at ballet than dog handling. She also enjoys swimming.
But there’s something special about dog competitions.
“I like spending time with my dog,” Emily said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .