Every dog has it's day: People as unique as the dogs at show

[bigdoglover]

The Jackson Sun

By Pete Wickham

Terrie Lee Howard and his wife Judy were dressed for a day on the bike, which indeed was part of their Saturday. The Union City couple were decked out in leather or denim vest. Harley hats. Terrie's tattooed arms, grey-blond beard and hair queue and earring ... pure biker, right?

"There's a big hawg weekend going on," he said, "but we're not there. We're here."

Here was a couple of folding chairs beside a show ring in the Jackson Faigrounds pavilion, watching his favorite breed put through paces during the third annual Jackson Tennessee Dog Fanciers' Association AKC show, which concludes today.

"Love those toy poodles," said Terrie Lee.
Say what?

The incongruity of that picture is not lost on the former barge worker.

"I get it from all the guys I ride with, all the time," he said, "but I don't care."

Listen to his love story with poodles - and almost all stories between man and dog are love stories - it makes sense.

"I had just had double hip replacement, and couldn't work on the river any more," said the 55-year-old Howard. who walks with the aid of a snakeskin-covered cane. "I was in the house all the time, and I needed company or I'd go stir crazy. I got a couple of poodles and ... they're so smart and friendly. You tell them something and they understand right away.

"Without those dogs, I would've gone stir-crazy," he said.

The Howards own 22 toy poodles for fun and business, but he spent most of the morning in rapt attention at whatever breed was in the ring.

"I'd never been to a dog show before, and we finally decided to come down. It's a lot of fun," he said, adding, "I'm a sucker for small dogs."

A few feet away, Darlene Allen of Jackson busily snapped picture after picture of two shar-peis being shown by Sewanee Kracalik of Talladega, Ala.

"How can you not love those faces?" Allen said. "I don't have any shar-peis now, but if I could I'd take one home with me today."

Kracalik added, "They're like potato chips. You can't have just one."

In another corner of the building a true champion was down from Ohio, getting ready to strut her stuff.

Margot, a 5-year-old Scottish Deerhound, won best of breed at February's Westminster Kennel Club show at New York's Madison Square Garden. That's the Super Bowl in this world.

"She's coming into her own now, and already has accumulated more than 11,000 show points," said 76-year-old owner/breeder Jeanne Frye, who lives just south of Cleveland.

There were no other Scottish deerhounds at this show. If you hadn't heard of the long, lean variety before, Frye says "think of a greyhound with hair."

So the key to this weekend was "to win the group competition and hopefully win Best in Show. But it's been a good trip."

This year's Jackson show is a bit down on dogs. "We're about 75 below last year, and I would imagine gas prices have a lot to do with it," said club board member Wanda Pevahouse.

However, this show's reputation got an indirect boost from the Westminster show. Rufus, a bull terrier that won top honors in the inaugural Jackson show three years ago, captured Best in Show at Westminster this year.

"We take a lot of indirect pride in the fact Rufus' road stopped here," Pevahouse said.

As Frye held onto her prize dog, some other dog lovers came by, including Doris Van Tol of Jackson.

Frye asked Van Tol what her dog was and she said "a wire haired fox terrier named Hope. I've never shown her. I just got her after my husband died, and she's my buddy."

Frye pointed to her purse, illustrated with a wire haired fox terrier.

"That's the dog my mother gave me when I was 16," she said. "I got this purse to recapture a bit of my youth."