Questions & Answers: ALASKAN MALAMUTE
SHILON BEDFORD
My father showed group-winning Chihuahuas and Boston Terriers before I was born. I got my first pet Malamute in 1970 and heard about dog shows so I thought I would try it out. I quickly learned my girl was not a show dog, but I was hooked and bought a puppy from Nancy Russell (Storm Kloud Ken- nels). My pup was Ch. Storm Kloud’s Eski Nuka UD. She not only became a top ten special but also was the eighth Mal to earn a Utility Dog title. With a limited breeding program, I bred and handled several top ten specials and obtained more obedience titles. I’ve been very active in the Alaskan Mala- mute Club of America, serving on numerous committees and two terms on the board. I’ve also been active with the Dayton Kennel Club and Dayton Dog Training Club wearing many different hats. I started judging in 1997 and currently do the Working Group and nearly half of the Sporting breeds. I’ve judged coast to coast in the US and also specialties in Spain and Italy. I enjoy the judging as much as exhibiting. It’s always great pleasure to judge good dogs. I particularly enjoy the many friends I’ve made over the years. After 30 years, I retired from General Motors as an Electrical Engineer. I’m married to Antonette Lucente and live in Dayton, Ohio. Besides the dog world, I’m an avid cyclist and bike 3,000 to 4,000 miles a year. I used to run competitively, but now mainly for fitness. I enjoy reading biographies about the many fascinating and colorful Americans who shaped the world. GAIL HISATAKE
I saw my first Alaskan Malamute when I was just 9 years old. My walk to school took me past a yard with a 3-foot picket fence and two lovely Alaskan Malamutes that would hang over the fence waiting for the kids to pet them as we walked past. I fell in love with the breed and knew that a Malamute would someday be a part of my life. Fortunately I married a man who
loves the outdoors and embraced my love for the breed. So in the early 80s we moved to Minnesota and once we had a home of our own we began our search for an Alaskan Mala- mute. Our interest in the breed included their working attri- butes and our kennel expansion focused on dogs that came from kennels that had dogs with a strong working drive. Our dogs participated in conformation, sledding, weight pulling and backpacking and are known for their appearance in the Disney film Iron Will . Malamutes are built for pulling heavy loads and working in tough conditions, so their attributes are best assessed from the back of a sled in tough conditions. Thus my husband, David, enjoyed winter camping with the dogs in northern Minnesota and Canada. One of his most memorable trips was taking the dogs by train to the end of the track and sledding into Hudson Bay. I was approved to judge the Alaskan Malamute in 1999 and now judge the Working Group. I have had the honor to judge our National Specialty twice and have judged in Australia, Italy, France, Belgium, England, Holland and most recently in Sweden. I am a lifetime member of the Alaskan Malamute Club of America, served on the Board of Directors for 14 years and am currently the Judges Education Coordinator. Beyond my involvement with dogs, I enjoy working on our 47-acre home site. Both my husband and I have graduate degrees in Horticulture and spend much of our time garden- ing and caring for our rather large yard and orchard. ROGER GIFFORD
My involvement with the Alaskan Mal- amute began in the 1960s while I was still in college at NYU. I bought my first pet at that time. In the 1970s I got my first show dog that finished his championship at a large specialty in Harrisburg, PA. I have lived with Malamutes ever since and have finished—primarily owner handled— over 35 dogs, including numerous spe-
cialty winners, group placers and top 20 contenders. I began judging in 2000, and after many years of studying, was finally approved for the Working Group in 2014. I have judged 3 Mal- amute specialties including one in Australia, and have recent- ly been invited to judge the French National in 2016. In 2018, I will be judging the Alaskan Malamute National here in the US. I live in upstate New York in the beautiful Hudson Valley region, about 90 miles north of NYC. I am a retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker, but still work two days a week
I grew up in a family that loved ani- mals, including dogs, cats and parakeets.
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