Thirty Long Island pooches are set to strut their stuff down the green carpet at the 135th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show that kicks off today at Madison Square Garden. Out of the 2,500 entrants, only one will be named best in show — but all competitors at Westminster have earned a “champion” title from competing in other shows.
Champion Broadcreeks Elsa, a 3-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois from Bay Shore, will be taking center stage at MSG today at 8 a.m.
“She loves competing in shows, she’s very social. It’s like a game to her,”
Elsa’s handler Ed Avellev, a Suffolk County high school physical education teacher, told Metro. “She loves to go hiking, boating, swimming and fishing. She’ll try to bite the fish right off the hook.
“The day of the show, I’ll take away about 25 percent of her food away,” Avellev revealed. “She performs better if she’s a little hungry.”
Towzie Tyke Puddin and Pi, a 5-year-old border terrier from Bayport who enjoys singing Irish lullabies with owner Joan Courtney, is another Long Island entrant in the prestigious show, as is Best Of Breed Class competitor Victorianne Crimson Sentry, a 3-year-old Airedale terrier also known as “Hunter.”
It’s a dog’s life
Champion Broadcreeks Elsa’s daily regimen includes two meals a day at 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. that consist of premium, organic, certified kibble, boiled salmon, organic eggs and blueberries and, for a special treat, pistachio nuts. She exercises every day promptly at 2:30 p.m. for about 90 minutes before bedding down at the foot of handler Ed Avellev’s bed around 10 p.m., after watching an hour or so of television.
