HOPING TO FETCH THE BEST IN SHOW; POLISHED POOCHES ON DISPLAY

Rush Hill's Angel On My Shoulder, a 17-month-old golden retriever whose call name is Shannon, got primped by handler Sandy Primovic of St. Louis at the Southeast Missouri Kennel Club dog show Saturday at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. The dog is owned by Carol Hardy of Chesterfield, Mo. The show continues today.

Dog handlers paraded pooches at the A.C. Brase Arena Bulding for the Southeast Missouri Kennel Club dog show Saturday.

The A.C. Brase Arena Building went to the dogs Saturday and Stacy Busch couldn't have been happier.

She helped run the 82nd annual Southeast Missouri Kennel Club dog show in Cape Girardeau. The show featured 686 dogs from a wide range of breeds, from Dalmatians to dachshunds and pinschers to poodles.

The club's 83rd annual show will be held today, beginning at 8 a.m.

Busch said the club used to hold shows in June and November. But for the past several years, the club has held the shows back-to-back.

The dogs, their owners and their handlers came from various states. The judges came from as far away as Louisiana, Ohio and Texas.

As various breeds paraded in the rings under the watchful eyes of the judges, other dogs were being groomed in the building and outside under motor-home awnings and in picnic shelters protected from the rain.

Safari's Louisa Crusane, a white standard poodle, had a perfect view of the show rings from atop a grooming table on the balcony overlooking the arena floor.

She stood dutifully still as handler Denise Agre of Columbia, Mo., readied the 3-year-old for the competition.

Agre loves showing poodles. "They have cool personalities," she said. "They are very smart. They are very versatile. They don't shed." But they do take a lot of grooming, she said.

Dog grooming is an art, she said.

Agre, a dog groomer by trade, has been showing poodles for 20 years. She shows her own poodles and those of others. Safari's Louisa Crusane is owned by Shelley Elsberry of Leawood, Kan.

Agre spends about 30 to 40 weekends a year showing dogs in shows from Minnesota to Oklahoma.

"You make a lot of friends," she said.

Stephanie Stour of Kansas City shows Doberman pinschers. She said the dogs have a bad reputation with the public as attack dogs. But Dobermans actually make great family pets, she said.

They're "couch potatoes," Stour said.

In general show dogs are pampered pooches. With all the bathing, brushing and blow-drying, "they are cleaner than most people," Stour said.

Lynn Sabo of Wildwood, Mo., brought her champion Lhasa apso, Lynnlaine's Roulette, to the show.

A breeder, Sabo said her dog is number one nationally in breed points and group points.

Handler Carol Rice of Shreveport, La., groomed the Lhasa apso, using a hair iron to beautify the dog's coat.

Rice taught school for 30 years and worked part-time as a handler. Two years ago, she retired from school teaching in California. Today, she works full-time as a handler, participating in about 165 shows a year.

Rice shows all breeds of dogs. At the Cape Girardeau show, she handled six dogs. But she has shown as many as eight to 10 dogs at a single show.

Sabo said dog shows are a social event for owners and handlers. There's also a lot of equipment involved in grooming the animals, including non-slip tables, clippers, hair dryers, talcum powder, eye drops and tooth brushes.

Sabo said she doesn't let any of her long-haired dogs in carpeted areas of her home. The carpet ruins their coats, she explained.

Most dogs compete for only a few years. "They are kind of like athletes," she said. "They reach their prime."