10 Questions ...

Profession: Retired teacher/school administrator 

Dog-sport involvement: As a judge: Sporting dogs. As a breeder and exhibitor: Goldens, Labs and Pugs in conformation, obedience, field. All the games! 

Hometown: Riverside, California

Astrological sign: Virgo

1. Do you have any dog-show superstitions?

No superstitions, except maybe checking every crate door not once, not twice, but three times to be sure they are closed! (I guess that’s obsession, not superstition.) 

2. TV-show guilty pleasure?

I rarely watch TV. 

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

Return the number of approved shows to pre-Covid limits and increase the minimum distance between all-breed shows to 500 miles on the same day, and between group or specialty shows to 300 miles. We need fewer shows with higher numbers to maintain the integrity of our sport. 

4. Most valued material possession?

Not including the dogs, a blown-glass Easter egg hand-painted by my great-grandmother in West Virginia in 1905. 

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

I won the basketball-shooting and softball-throwing contests at my elementary school in sixth grade. And jacks. I won that, too. 

6. Who would you compare yourself to? 

I would hope to be compared to my mother and grandmother — confident, kind, well-educated, strong women who never settled for anything less than their personal best. 

7. What are you “famous” for?  

Not a single thing. LOL.

8. What website do you visit most often?

AKC Judges Directory and AccuWeather.

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

Dismissing the defeats as soon as possible is key to joy in this sport. Hard, but necessary. My most memorable win is still my first-owner-handled point. Mattoon Kennel Club, 1981, judge Mrs. Marie Koonts, with my first Golden. One glorious point. I still have the photo and ribbon. We need to share the joy of the novice handler when they celebrate those simple but powerful wins. 

10. What do you wish someone would ask you? 

“What are your dreams for a return to a kind, educated and democratic country?”