Editorial: April 2, 2021
Looking Ahead To The Future
DOG NEWS is pleased to announce that starting with this issue, we will once again return to our weekly Friday publication dates. As you know, we limited our printed issue to every other week while the pandemic swept the nation. With all the cancellations of dog shows, we thought it prudent to suspend publishing until such time as the health of the nation started to return. Then we started an every-other-week publishing schedule that seemed to mirror the slow return to a normal life. Now, with vaccines more and more available and the warm weather allowing for outdoor venues, we have decided to return to our normal weekly publishing that was never interrupted since our first issue in 1985.
The pandemic threw us all off our normal schedules and disrupted the lives we all took for granted. The sport of purebred dogs took a big hit, and only now do we see a strengthening within our sport. With this positive outlook to the future we will see more of our fellow exhibitors and judges who have waited to participate until now. It will be a welcome sight to see our friends from the dog world again. But we must also remember those we lost to this pandemic and mourn their loss to their families, friends and our dog-loving community. We know you all join us in sending our deepest condolences to them.
Once again, thank you to our advertisers, editorial staff and readers for your unending support, and we look forward to continuing our long-held tradition of bringing you the latest and most current news from our outstanding roster of feature writers from around the world.
Looking Back To The Not So Distant Past
Dog News was very honored to be selected by Purina Pro Plan Pet Foods to partner with them for their Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs of the Year Awards Dinner, using the Dog News Top Ten List as their rating system of choice. The Dog News rating system was originally named the Phillips System, created by the late Irene Castle Phillips Khatounian Schlintz. The first national rating system in the United States, this system was entrusted to us. This February's black-tie Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs of the Year Awards Dinner proudly partnered with Dog News — which celebrates among other accomplishments the top-winning dog in each variety group, the top-winning obedience dog and the top winner competing in Junior Showmanship — sadly was cancelled. In this issue of Dog News we proudly present the 2020 Top Winning Dogs of the Year, the Top Winning Obedience Dog and Top Winning Junior Handler. The other categories that are normally voted on by the general public — Breeder of the Year, Owner Handler of the Year, Professional Handler of the Year, Judge of the Year, All Breed Show of the Year and Specialty Show of the Year — were not offered because of the very limited amount of dog shows that were held.
As a result, the breeders, owners and handlers of the top-winning dogs will be invited to our 2022 dinner next year. We look forward to honoring these dogs as well as our 2021 winners.