Entertainment

Meet the top dog handler

Starting tomorrow, 2,721 impeccably turned-out pooches in 187 breed categories will be paraded about the show ring at the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

But the dogs aren’t the only fierce competitors in the show ring. The handler at the other end of the leash is integral to helping a show pup look its best and catch a judge’s eye.

“They are a team,” says David Frei, Westminster’s communications director. “The best handlers keep their dogs moving at the right pace for their breed and build, and in turn run at the right speed for their dogs. But they also understand that a dog isn’t a

robot — and if it wants to do a twirl or let out a bark, they can.”

And, while dogs that win Best in Show at Westminster rarely return, lest they not win again and lose value, victorious handlers often show again at Madison Square Garden. This year, there are three handlers competing that have each won Best in Show twice before. Here they are:

Scott Sommer: The child prodigy

The son of breeders, Scott Sommer, 49, showed his first dog at age 5, and has been in the business ever since. In 2009, the Texas-based handler made history with a 10-year-old Sussex springer named Stump (pictured with him at right), who was the oldest dog to ever be win Best in Show. “He had been very sick and almost died, but he made an amazing recovery and won,” he enthuses. “It was my greatest moment, apart from when I won in 2001 with JR, my [own] bichon frisé!”

This year, he and his team are showing a number of different breeds, including an Irish wolfhound, a pug and a Greater Swiss mountain dog.

Frei says the ability to show such a variety is a mark of Sommer’s talent. “Different breeds present different grooming and conditioning challenges,” he explains. “It’s not just the two minutes in front of the judge.”

Michelle Scott: The woman on the run

Michelle Scott (with 2005 Best in Show winner Carlee) prefers to show larger breeds that are more about muscle than mane. “I like dogs that move faster rather than [those with] all that hair,” she says. “I like to think I’m quite athletic.”

Her most memorable Westminster win was in 2004, with a hulking Newfoundland named Josh (inset) who thrilled the crowds with his big friendly face and cheerful barks at the audience. “Moments like that you can’t prepare for,” the Maryland-based handler says.

This year, she’ll be presenting half a dozen large dogs — from a giant Schnauzer to a Rottweiler — while her husband and partner, Michael, will show eight. While she admits “there are some who aren’t quite the same caliber as others,” Scott won’t reveal her best prospects. “I don’t want to say who we have the highest hopes for because I’m superstitious.”

Kellie Fitzgerald: The big-deal breeder

A handler since 1980, Kellie Fitzgerald, 49, wasn’t expecting the fame that accompanied her first Westminster win, in 2000 with spaniel Samantha. “A policeman on the street recognized [the dog],” says the Delaware native. “I couldn’t believe it.”

As well as showing, Fitzgerald (left, with 2007’s top dog, James) also breeds a small, prized stock of English springer spaniels. This year, she will be showing one of her own spaniels, as well as an English setter and a German shorthaired pointer.

“The springer is very young, very handsome but he has no record,” she says. “This year is just so people can meet him.”