As American Kennel Club-certified judges, David and Anne Bolus travel the world to attend dog shows, visiting every continent except Antarctica, and most recently judging a show in Bologna, Italy.
“We used to think, ‘This is amazing. We get paid for doing this?'” said Anne Bolus of the couple’s eight-year career on the dog show circuit.
Next they will judge the Christmas Cleveland Cluster Dec. 15-17 in Ohio, featuring 2,700 four-legged friends.
American Kennel Club-certified dog show judges Anne and David Bolus, of Harrison, travel the world to attend shows.She judges sporting, hound and toy dogs while her husband judges working and herding dogs. She said there are seven groups in dog showing: sporting, hounds, working breeds, terriers, toy dogs, non-sporting breeds and herding dogs.
Judges look for characteristics that speak to the dogs’ purest breeding.
“It’s called form follows function,” Anne Bolus said.
Her dog, a 13-pound border terrier named Pokey, must have large teeth for her size to kill rodents, pliant skin that gives while she’s twisting after them through underground holes, and a strong tail to be pulled out once the job is done.
“Some people think that’s cruel, but it isn’t with a terrier,” Anne Bolus said.
She said the wildlife in their Harrison backyard draws those instincts out of Pokey, a name short for Poke Salad Annie.
“It’s beautiful and we love it, but my gosh there are a lot of squirrels and [Pokey] goes nuts,” Anne Bolus said. “They sit outside and they eat acorns and it just drives her crazy.”
As time goes on, she said, cropped ears and docked tails are becoming less and less popular, which will completely change the look of some of the most distinctive dogs.
“You get a Doberman pinscher, it’s going to look like a coonhound,” Anne Bolus said. “You’re going to see more and more dogs with tails. We’re seeing it more and more in the show ring.”
She said AKC shows don’t offer a Reserve Best in Show yet, though most international shows do, but she’d love to see the honor recognized so crowds know “who came close” in a lineup of seven finalists.
“There’s more than one dog that’s really beautiful,” she said.
The Boluses have worked with dogs since the early 1960s, and Anne Bolus has worked with AKC for 20 years. Judging was part of the “natural progression” after they had owned, handled and bred dogs for decades.
The Boluses attend seminars and enlist breeders as mentors to finetune their eye. The experience of attending dog show after dog show is invaluable, too, Anne Bolus said.
AKC-certified continuing education classes will always keep the game interesting.
“I’m going into hounds next year,” David Bolus said.
E-mail Hannah Campbell at hcampbell@timesfreepress.com