The Terrier edition of The Canine Chronicle is included in this issue. This has been another great year for Terriers as they have won some of the major shows in this country. The Sealyham Terrier on the East Coast has been the ruler of the Terrier world. He is praised by most who have ever judged him. This dog was whelped in Canada and is a terrific representation of his breed. In the late 30s and 40s, Sealyhams were one of the top winners of the Terrier Group as well as Best in Shows. This dog is the biggest winner since Ch. Dersade Bobby’s Girl who was Best in Show at Westminster in 1977, shown by Peter Green. Peter has endorsed this dog big time and gave him one of his first big wins here in the United States.

Terriers have always been a group of dogs to contend with at the major dog shows in this country.

The Best in Show record in Smooth Fox Terriers has been broken again by a dog being shown out of the midwest. This dog, in my mind, is an outstanding dog who deserves everything he gets. In the early 80s (in 1981), a dog called Ch. Tarb the Brat won the Terrier Group at Westminster and broke the Best In Show record of the great Ch. Norway Saddler, who had held the record since the early 1940s. Since then, the record now has been broken for the third time. This is quite an accomplishment. These records all tend to get broken sooner or later because of the number of dog shows we have today. It takes not only a great dog conformation-wise but a great dog in temperament to hold up to this kind of campaigning. It is also a great tribute to the handlers and caretakers of these fine dogs to guide them through this.

The editor requested that I write about Kerry Blue Terriers I have known or handled during my career. This breed was what we in the business called a “big money breed”. In the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, there was a tremendous amount of money spent on this breed by its aficionados. The Kerry Blue was a fairly new breed in the Terrier Group in the 40s but took off like gangbusters on the East Coast. There was a great breeder by the name of Mrs. McEachern in Eastern Canada–Tailteam Kennels–who showed some of the best. Her handler when she first started was Ted Ward, who was George Ward’s father, and after Ted, George took over. George was a master at trimming this breed as he was with all breeds of Terriers. The power in this breed was on the East Coast in the 40s, 50s and into the early 60s. There was a man in Southern California by the name of Joe Urmston, who bought a bitch from the famous Marberlane Kennels on the East Coast and brought her to California. This bitch’s name was Ch. Marberlane’s Minuet. When I got out of the service in 1952 after the Korean War, I was recommended to Mr. Urmston by Harry Sangster, a great handler in California, to handle Minuet. Harry could not give her first call at the time. He thought I could get the job done. Like I say, I was just out of the service and was more than happy to be handed what I thought to be such an outstanding show dog. I had worked for a Kerry Blue Kennel before going into the service, so Harry knew that I was good at trimming them. This bitch’s name was Misty. I had just gotten married and bought a kennel in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. I brought this bitch home to my kennel and made terrific friends with her. I got her looking really good and took her to her first dog show which was the Kerry Blue Terrier Specialty at the Harbor Cities Kennel Club in Long Beach. She went from the open bitch class to Best of Breed at the specialty and on to second in a very strong Terrier group under Mr. William Kendrick, a very famous judge from the East Coast. Her next show was at the Los Angeles Kennel Club Show. She went from the open bitch class on to Best in Show under one of the best dog show judges I have ever known, Mrs. Bea Godsol. There is a picture of this event in this magazine.

This Kerry Blue bitch, Minuet, became the matriarch of the breed on the West Coast and was responsible for the power of the breed there. Minuet is one of my all-time favorite terriers as she helped put me on the map as a dog handler. I went on to many Best in Shows with her and she and I became kind of famous in the Kerry Blue world. Minuet was not only beautiful to look at but a moving machine. She moved with tremendous power and grace. She was magnificent to watch. When it was time to breed her, Mr. Urmston said he was going to go East and find the best moving dog to breed to her. He said he did not care so much what the dog looked like but wanted him to be a super mover. Mr. Urmston did just that, but by the time it came for her to have her pups, for some reason, Mr. Urmston lost interest and put Misty in a well-known Cocker Spaniel Kennel near his house, in East Los Angeles, to have her pups. I heard that she had her pups and kind of lost track of her and her puppies.

About a year after that, a lady from the East Coast by the name of Mrs. Leonard Smit, moved to California and met Mr. Urmston. They hit it off and they got married. One day, Mrs. Urmston called me and asked me if I would go out to this Cocker Spaniel Kennel and bring the male pup they had decided to keep out of this litter to my kennel. I did that and brought this year old male Kerry to my kennel. This pup had never been trimmed or combed in his entire life. He was knotted and corded like a Puli. Minuet had long gone to Mr. & Mrs. Urmston’s home. I called Mrs. Urmston and told her that this pup was hopelessly matted and I would have to clip him completely down, which I did.

Underneath this hair was an absolutely beautiful Kerry Blue. I put him on a lead and took him out to my driveway. The pup hit the ground on his bell. He was scared to death of the outside world. I knew that if I was to make any kind of show dog out of him it was going to take some kind of work. I showed the pup to my old boss, Ben Brown, who was a great dog man, and he said, “Ric, you will never get this pup out of this, it is too late.” I made up my mind that I would get him out of it. I worked daily with him. This dog became Ch. Blue More High Fidelity. I took him to his first show and he won a big specialty going best of breed from the Open Dog Class and he went on to win best in shows. High Fidelity went on to be the grandsire Ch. Melbee's Chances Are, the best dog of any breed I ever showed. I thought then and I still think that they threw the mold away after Ch. Melbee's Chances Are. Ch. Melbee's Chances Are is one of the best dogs, all breeds, that I have ever seen. I am not the only one to say this but many great dog people have said it. Joan Ludwig, the great dog photographer from California has said it. I was privileged to be able to show him and will never forget him.

Till next time, Ric Chashoudian