Striker Will Never Know He Wasn’t Best in Show

NYT SPORT: Striker Will Never Know He Wasn’t Best in Show
By Sarah Lyall
Section: Sports
Source: New York Times

A blindingly white Samoyed fell just short of the top spot at Westminster in consecutive years, but the now-retired champion is busy playing, romping, posing and shedding.

TORONTO — No one watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last year could have missed Striker the Samoyed, a blindingly white confection of fluff and enthusiasm who stole the show with his goofy joie de vivre. Sadly for his fans, Striker lost in the final round, defeated by a lugubriously dignified bloodhound and a perky little French bulldog. But has he spent the past year moping dejectedly around the house, whining about what might have been? “Hell, no,” said Judi Elford, Striker’s breeder and, with Marc Ralsky and Correen Pacht, his co-owner. “Does he care that he did not win best in show at Westminster? As long as he gets attention, no — he does not.” An old dog at 6 by the harsh standards of the showing world, Striker retired last year and won’t be returning to Westminster for this year’s competition, which started Saturday and concludes Tuesday night. But he is still a champion, and he is still busy — playing, romping, posing and shedding at the home he shares with Pacht and Ralsky in north Toronto. Samoyeds are an unusually chill breed, his owners say, and Striker is an unusually chill dog. “He wakes up happy and he’s like, ‘Let’s go!’” Ralsky said. “He never has a bad day. Whatever you want to do — ‘Let’s go for a drive in the car. Let’s sit on the couch. Let’s watch a movie. Let’s get an ice cream cone’ — he’s up for it.”

Published Date: May 9, 2023 at 03:00AM

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/sports/striker-samoyed-westminster-dog-show.html