10 Questions ...

Profession: Photojournalist

Dog-sport involvement: Owner, breeder and AKC judge

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Astrological sign: Virgo

1. Do you have any dog-show superstition? 

No, I don’t. I am not a superstitious person. I believe you make your own luck and are responsible for your own destiny.

2. TV show guilty pleasure? 

“Banshee.” I can watch it over and over.

3. If you were president of AKC for one day, what would you do?

I would tell the reps that their job is to make the judges better, not to catch them if you can. A mistake is a mistake; everyone makes them. The emphasis should be placed on competence: Are they putting up good dogs, the best dogs? I know it’s all subjective, but a good dog is a good dog, and when it is a terrible selection, that is obvious, and it should be addressed. I know procedure is important, and every exhibitor deserves the same observation, and that we should be consistent, but our emphasis is on the wrong thing. Our exhibitors travel long distances and spend lots of money to show their dogs. We should make sure they get their due.

4. Most valued material possession?

My 1910 Augustine Brunswick nine-foot pool table. I have had it 31 years. It’s beautiful. It has pearl inlaid around the table. My game is fair, but I need to play more often.

5. What is something no one would guess about you?

That I was the first Black photojournalist in San Francisco who worked for a network TV station. There was a photographer who worked for Fox in Oakland name Bill Moore, but no one in San Francisco. I thought I was being hired because I was so good, but later found out that I was hired because I was good and the FCC demanded that they hire someone other than white men. They brought me from Atlanta. It was tough; I was hated from the beginning. It took about five years to win them over. And several years later I won an Emmy.

6. Who would you compare yourself to?

There is no one I would compare myself to. There are those who I would like to pattern my life after. Namely, Julius Alexander. He was my high school teacher. He taught me English, photography, chess, how to swim, how to fly an airplane … all at the age of 14. He got me my first job as a photographer in Atlanta in the late ’60s. He passed two months ago.

7. What are you famous for?

In the dog world, it would be having three Top 20 Dobermans in eight years, bred and owned, with the last one winning Grand Prize Futurity.  

In the show world, I am famous for pointing out all the faults that Donald Trump has. Trying to understand how could someone love and praise such a horrible person and terrible president. I have lost so many Facebook friends because of me speaking out and warning everybody of how he is harming this country and, if not stopped, will destroy our place of being the best place in the world to live.

8. What website do you visit most often?

The website I visit most is Wine Searcher. I have studied wines for many years and have shared some of the best wines in the world with my fellow dog friends. Some not knowing what they are drinking, but loving it, and that is what matters most.

9. What was more memorable, your most satisfying win or disappointing defeat?  And what was it?

The most memorable event in my dog career was winning Grand Prize Futurity at the DPCA National with Ruby Dee’s Bolivar, “Simone.” It was a great honor, and I was so happy and proud.

The most disappoint defeat was losing to a class bitch with my Top 20 bitch Ruby Dee’s Love at Large, “Jewel.” That loss broke my heart for several reasons.

 10. What do you wish someone would ask you? 

“Why are you so outspoken about the path this country is going on?”