ShowSight Interviews: Cindy Cooke, Anstamm Scottish Terriers
BY ALLAN REZNIK continued
it’s a little easier to get them excited about showing. When novices enter the ring, we all need to be helpful and encouraging. The first all-breed kennel club that I joined was the Okaloosa Kennel Club in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. Three wom- en took me under their wings there: Charlotte Patterson (Pugs), Tish Keat- ing (Schipperkes) and Barbara Bush (Cocker Spaniels). They gave me jobs to do, they encouraged me and they made me feel so welcome in that club. Most of all, they shared their dog knowledge with me. New Scottish Terrier exhibitors not only have to learn difficult handling skills with a not-always-cooperative dog, but they also have to master the complex art of Terrier grooming. Judg- es can be a big help by giving useful feedback to struggling novices and by remembering that our shows are not grooming competitions! My biggest concern for the future is the gradual disappearance of owner- handlers in my breed. In some cases, they are aging out but the ones who concern me are the ones who no longer believe that the sport has a level play- ing field. As the oldest owner-handler in Scotties, I’m afraid I have to agree with them. While the situation may be different in the other Groups, owner- handlers rarely win or even place in today’s Terrier Groups. I would say that this trend started in the 1990s, partly, I suspect, due to the rise of advertising in dog publications. The AKC NOHS pro- gram may be exacerbating this. To be truthful, many Scottish Terrier owner- handlers feel like judges are throwing them a bone with “Best Owner-Han- dled” and “Select” ribbons. Just recent- ly, two very successful owner-handlers
threw in the towel and put their spe- cials out with handlers. These people breed good dogs and they present them beautifully, but they no longer believe that their dogs are getting a fair shake. Breeders who cannot afford handlers and expensive ads will eventually be squeezed out of the game. 10. What are your plans for Anstamm in the next decade or two? I just turned 71, so I hope to still be showing dogs in a “decade or two.”
Korea with two military working dogs and their handlers.
Most American Scottish Terriers still demonstrate correct temperament, but a growing number of judges neglect or even refuse to spar Scotties in the ring. Without including this important test of temperament, our dogs could lose this essential element of breed type. 9. The sport has changed greatly since you began as a breeder-exhibitor. What are your thoughts on the state of the fancy and the declining number of breeders? How do we encourage newcomers to join us, and remain in the sport? Clubs must develop active recruit- ing programs. I think the place to start is with the home breeders who are already breeding Scotties for the pet market. Many of these people would be breeding better-quality dogs but until very recently, show people pretty much cut them dead. We called them “back- yard breeders” and shared nothing with them—not our breeding stock, not our knowledge of good breeding practices and not our knowledge of health issues. They can’t breed better dogs if we don’t help and encourage them. Once we get someone interested in breeding,
This is Ch. Anstamm Heatwave winning breed from the classes at Montgomery 1988 under breeder-judge James Reynolds.
11. Finally, tell us a little about Cindy Cooke outside of dogs... your profession, your hobbies. I’m a retired Air Force officer. I start- ed as an administrative officer in the bomb “dump” of a tactical fighter wing. The men in my unit were responsible for maintaining the bombs and other munitions regularly carried by fighter aircraft. My next job was as the first Equal Opportunity Officer at Craig AFB in Selma, Alabama—I think of that as my combat tour since Selma was still pretty dangerous for us “outside agi- tators.” The Air Force sent me to law school and I served as a Judge Advocate for the remainder of my time in service. When I retired, I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan to work more closely with Buffy. I worked in the Probate Court and then took a job with the United Kennel Club. That was a great learn- ing experience for me. I went hunting with Coonhounds, drove a sled team, designed a weight pull program, wrote breed standards and learned the ins and outs of lobbying on behalf of dog owners. My hobby used to be reading, but once I got into dogs, I found I had almost no time to read. Thank God for audible books that I can listen to while doing my dog work and driving to shows. If you see me at a dog show, I’m nearly always wearing headphones and listening to a book. Please remind me to take the headphones off before I go into the ring!
Bronze GCH Anstamm Tansy Takes Off and breeder-judge Laurie Herd.
180 • S how S ight M agazine , M ay 2018
Powered by FlippingBook