By Tom Yerace - TRIBUNE-REVIEW – Their purebred greyhound’s formal name is “Ch. Zanzibar’s Coffee Crunch JC,” but around the house Thomas and Becky Schirf just call him “Buck.”
By Sunday night, the Latrobe couple hope to call him something else: a national champion.
Buck is one of only 25 greyhounds participating in the invitation-only American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship in Tampa, Fla., this weekend. “It (winning) would be a very big deal but, honestly, it was a big deal when he got the invitation,” Becky Schirf said. “This is the first national show he has ever been in.”
In addition to the title and the prestige that goes with it, there’s a financial award. If Buck wins the greyhound group, the Schirfs will pick up $200. If he wins best in the hound category, the prize is $1,500. Should Buck emerge from the show’s 2,648 canine contenders and take the “Best in Show” title, the Schirfs will walk away $50,000 richer.
The show will be televised live on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel starting at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; however, Buck’s first competition will be at noon on Saturday and he must win to make it to the televised competition.
Buck has been a winner before. Schirf said he has won the greyhound category in at least 12 shows.
She said the invitation to the show sponsored by the AKC and Eukanuba, a pet food manufacturer, was not expected. She said her husband, who handles Buck during the competition, had been working very hard and hoped to have Buck work his way into the Oscars of the canine set, the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Only the top five from each breed are invited to that show.
Buck may not be that far off. Schirf said he was one of only four greyhounds out of 104 competing in the 2004 Greyhound Club of America’s Eastern Specialty Show to be chosen for an award of merit.
Despite his uppercrust moniker and pedigree, Buck’s demeanor makes him seem more like just one of the guys.
“They tell us that he has a lot of personality,” she said, referring to show officials and fellow greyhound enthusiasts. “He’s a little spoiled. They tell us he is full of himself. He thinks all the girls like him.”
When her husband puts the lead on him, however, she said Buck understands they mean business.
“He loves to be in the ring,” Schirf said.
The opposite is true of Buck’s sister, Velvet, whom the Schirfs purchased with Buck from a breeder in Alabama. She usually handles Velvet in shows and said it is sometimes hard to keep her still so the judges can examine her, which can result in disqualification. Buck does not have that problem.
Schirf said they bought the greyhounds when they were only three months old but not with the intent of showing them. They changed their minds when the greyhounds were 12 to 18 months old, which meant Buck and Velvet had some catching up to do since many of the dogs start competing in shows at six months, Schirf said. They started attending show classes with the dogs.
Like Buck, Schirf said Velvet also has an official name: “Ch. Zanzibar’s Marble Cheescake.”
“They came from a litter that was a baker’s dozen so they all got bakery names,” she explained.
Tom Yerace can be reached at tyerace@tribweb.com or 724-837-5374.
Dog falls short at event
A Latrobe couple’s greyhound was bested by two siblings from Texas during this weekend’s invitation-only American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship.
Becky Schirf said the dog, Ch. Zanzibar’s Coffee Crunch JC, or “Buck” for short, failed to place during competition on Saturday and did not advance to Sunday’s finals.
Schirf and her husband, Thomas, took Buck to Tampa, Fla., to participate in the two-day event.
Buck, who has won in the greyhound category in at least 12 other shows, was bested Saturday by two greyhounds that also happen to be brother and sister in the categories Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex, Ch. Ayala’s Capriccio and Ch. Ayala’s La Traviata.
An Alaskan malamute, Ch. Nanuke’s Snoklassic No Boundaries, or “Costello” for short, went on to win best in show during competition televised live last night.