CORTEZ
Gracie is just a pup, but what a pup!
The 4-month-old black and tan coon hound won the Best of Show Puppy title at the Durango Kennel Club Dog Show, which will end its three-day run Sunday at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds, just east of Cortez.
About half of the 200 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club were strutting their stuff near Cortez, said Jan Owen, president of the Durango Kennel Club.
Gracie’s qualities stood out immediately from the other black and tans in the litter, said owner Francie Olson. Gracie’s bone structure, prettier face and longer ears marked her as a dog to watch, Olson said.
Olson landed in Denver when she arrived from Michigan and became the director of the University of Colorado horse-riding program. In 2005, she came to Southwest Colorado to establish Hound Dog Ranch in Hesperus where she breeds, trains and shows black and tan coon hounds.
She chose to breed black and tans because she had been captivated as a child by the image of Pluto, the floppy-eared dog in Mickey Mouse cartoons, Olson said.
In fact, another of Olson’s black and tans named Pluto on Saturday won the best of breed title.
But it was Gracie who did Hound Dog Ranch proud.
She was the Best of Breed Puppy, then was named best puppy in the hound group – there are groups for sporting dogs, working dogs, terriers, toys, non-sporting and herding dogs, as well – and finally stepped to the front of all puppies to claim the Best of Show Puppy title. All of the dogs were 4 to 6 months old.
Among the other puppy competitors in Gracie’s age group were smooth coat Chihuahuas, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Rottweilers, Great Danes, Alaskan malamutes and Portuguese Podengo Pequenos.
There are numerous classifications, Owen said. There is a puppy class for dogs 6 months to 1 year old, a junior dog class, classes for American-bred dogs and exhibitor-bred dogs and the open class.
People show dogs for different reasons, Owen said.
“They’ll see a breed they like, start going to dog shows and finally say, ‘I’m going to give it a try,’” Owen said.
daler@durangoherald.com
