A woman local to our area will be among more than 3,000 canines and their handlers competing in the events of Westminster Week – the famous all breed dog show in New York City.
Kimberly Norton, a resident of Bristol Township’s Levittown section, has been handling whippets for nearly 3 decades, and will be showing Grande at the 141st annual event on Monday.
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Like Norton, Grande is no stranger to the dog show circuit.
“From the time Grande was a puppy, I took her to dog show handling classes. She learned the proper stance and proper gait to move around a ring. She also had to learn that different people who were judges will go over her for [an] examination,” Norton told LevittownNow.com. “When the weather was favorable, I would ‘bike’ Grande every other day to get her in top physical shape. I would practice dog show etiquette daily in the yard. I had family and friends constantly pet her while training ‘stay’ on the examination table.”
Norton said Grande began her show career over the summer and throughout the season won ‘Best of Breed’ as well as a Hound Group placement before reaching the 15 championship points and being crowned American Champion by the American Kennel Club (AKC).
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It was then that Norton, in partnership with Grande’s breeder Dianne Reimer, of Ewing, began filling out the entry form to compete in Westminster.
On Monday, Grande will be shown at the annual dog show event in New York City in an effort to obtain the Grand Championship, the next highest honor.
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“She is owned and loved by me and her breeder,” said Norton.
