Holland family hopes Bugs can repeat at Westminster

Christy Shepler of Holland and her bull mastiff, Grand Champion Peerless I am the Love Bug, better known as just "Bugs." The two are heading to Westminster Kennel Club's 136th annual dog show. Enlarge

NEW YORK -- Christy Shepler's bull mastiff Bugs isn't a stranger to the spotlight.

The 4-year-old dog from suburban Holland took the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show by storm last year, and was named best of breed.

His big win came on Valentine's Day, which is appropriate given his show name, Grand Champion Peerless I Am The Love Bug.

"He competes on Valentine's Day again this year," Ms. Shepler said of the dog show being held in New York City. "We are really hoping for a repeat."

Bugs is a total love bug, which is how he got the name, said Ms. Shepler, who has been showing for conformation for the last 10 years. Co-owned by her daughter Alexis O'Larry, Bugs will be handled by Tina Harbert of Spring Arbor, Mich.

The laid-back dog starred in an episode of Animal Planet Canada's Breeder of the Pack, which aired in Canada on Dec, 30.

The show featured his dog-loving family, which includes five children, 10 dogs, and 13 sugar gliders, a small gliding possum, which Ms. O'Larry breeds.

Ms. O'Larry is apprenticing with Ms. Harbert and hopes to handle her own dogs in the ring later this year. Her youngest brother Justin Fuller, who will be 8 in March, is looking forward to turning 9 so he can begin competing as a junior handler. He already practices "stacking," which is teaching a dog to remain in position while the judge examines the dog.

After Westminster, Bugs is jetting off to spend a year with Dutch handler Whalea Bus where they will try and earn international titles in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and England. He'll be making the rounds at prestigious overseas shows, including Crufts Dog Show, which is March 8-11 in Birmingham, England.

"I am going to miss him terribly," said Ms. Shepler, who calls Bug her "heart" dog. "It's that once-in-a-lifetime dog that comes along and changes your life. He can totally read all my emotions. He's my soulmate in a dog form."

Entry to Westminster is limited to 2,000 total dogs. Bugs received an invitation because he is ranked as the fourth-best in his breed nationally, Ms. Shepler said. The top five ranked in each breed get an automatic invite. Many dogs enter and don't get in.

Established in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club is America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. It is the second longest continuously held sporting event in this country, just one year behind the Kentucky Derby.

Westminster hosts the best of the best in each of 185 breeds. For this year's 136th annual show, entries came from 47 states plus Washington and Puerto Rico, as well as Canada, Mexico, Italy, Brazil, Peru, Japan, China, and Russia. The most entries came from New York, with 204 dogs entered.

For the second year in a row, the Rhodesian ridgeback leads the pack with 40 dogs entered, followed by French bulldogs with 39 dogs entered, and America's number-one breed, Labrador retrievers, with 38 dogs entered. On the other end of the spectrum, five breeds will be represented by only two dogs; these rarities include American water spaniels, kuvaszok, harriers, sealyham terriers, and canaan dogs.

Joining Bugs at Madison Square Garden in New York Monday and Tuesday are 84 dogs from Ohio and 52 dogs from Michigan, including Oakie, an American English coonhound whose show name is Champion Moonlight's Most Wanted who will be making his first appearance at Westminster,

He is owned by Jason and Sianna Spieth of Quincy, and Ms. Spieth is also his handler. The couple has been raising, hunting, and showing American English coonhounds for 14 years.

Carol Heidl, of Sandusky, is the owner of three Labrador retrievers who will be shown at Westminster. Ms. Heidl co-owns Pristine, also known as Grand Champion Tabatha's Pristine W.C. with Noel Nivera. of Holmdel, N.J. Pristine, who is is 8, has won 23 specialty best of breeds. She is also a certified service dog, "a grand hunting dog and a delightful companion," said Ms. Heidl, who has been a Labrador retriever breeder for 42 years and will be Pristine's handler at Westminster.

The other two dogs she is bringing to the show are Champion Tabatha's Sunfest Hudson, better known as just Hudson, and Grand Champion Tabatha's Pester W.C., whose call name is Pester.

Hudson is co-owned by Mr. Nivera along with Christina Hodge, of Norton. The dog will be handled by Norman Griener of Rehoboth, Mass. Pester, co-owned by Ms. Heidl and Mr. Nivera, will be shown by Ms. Heidl.

Contact Tanya Irwin at: tirwin@theblade.com, or 419-724-6066.