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Dog Days of Spring
by Tim Walker
This past February, The Westminster Kennel Club, America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs, brought together the best of the very best show dogs from all across the country to Madison Square Garden. More than 2,500 dogs of 162 breeds and varieties competed until one lucky doggie was crowned Best In Show. RealSports with Bryant Gumbel producer Tim Walker got the assignment.
Madison Square Garden...it wasn't your typical scene. No Budweiser and hot dogs for angry Rangers or Knicks fans. This event was all about champagne and strawberries served on trays to the tuxedo and gown set discussing different doggie vanities. Real conversations overheard: "What are those?"// "Neuticles"// "What are they?"//"Fake testicles for show dogs that have had their real ones removed." "Can you believe the winner last year at Crufts (the biggest show in England) supposedly had a face lift?" "This make-up takes at least two years off his face" (applying make up to dog). I kept thinking The Garden hasn't ever seen athletes as pampered as these.
Prior to our sit down interview with Larry and Marcello, two dog handlers from Ocala, our correspondent Bernie Goldberg, turned to me with worry, exclaiming, "these guys aren't nearly as good as the two guys in the Best in Show movie." I realized, however, that things would be fine within the first couple of minutes of the interview when one of the dog handlers began talking about Joy, the Burberry wearing French bulldog.
Actual interview excerpt:
LARRY, dog handler:
The breeders, they were the ones that raised her. And they said, "You know, you can't - you can't spoil this bitch. Don't spoil this bitch." And - and I said...
BERNIE, correspondent:
Excuse me...Larry, No more "bitches." This is a family TV show. Kids are watching.
LARRY, dog handler:
Are you kidding?
BERNIE, correspondent:
No. Of course, I'm kidding...
LARRY, dog handler:
OK, thank God...Because you never know. I was just interviewed at the Long Beach show. This reporter thought that the competition involved dogs fighting. He asked me if any of the dogs died. I mean, the show had been going on for six hours when he asked me this. And I was convinced, that this was a put-on. And he was dead serious, unfortunately, so."
Our next interview was with the doggie Shrink (Psychiatrist that is).
Our correspondent really opened up as they began talking about problems both men and dogs routinely face ... problems with anger...aggression...obsessive-compulsive disorder and the most common one: excessive tail chasing (or thoughts of it at least). What should have been a five minute interview -- we needed two bites from the Shrink -- turned into a two hour session.
We then moved ringside during a break in doggie action, to interview David Frei, the Westminster Public Relations guy. Before Bernie could get the first question out -- disaster struck. Something named "CoJo"...apparently an on-air guy named Steven Cojocaro ... (I'm told he's the fashion guy from Entertainment Tonight and the Today show) ... starts running around, with dog, waving to the crowd in the ring two feet behind Bernie, directly in our shot. Before I could do anything, Goldberg, the normally happy lap dog, immediately turns pit bull. As "CoJo" prances by, Bernie jumps in the ring, gets right up to his prey and unleashes (get it) a few carefully chosen words. Cojo had no idea what was coming from "Cujo." He turned, slightly startled and then just ran off ...in the opposite direction, never to cross our shot again. All to the horror of David Frei, our Westminster host, whose interview was over before it began.
"Best in Show" is just one of over 350 sports stories produced by the RealSports Unit. It is an example of the wide diversity of sports features and story telling imagery generated in its nine years on the air.
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