The only thing better than 1,300 dogs? 1,300 puppies. Nearly 1,300 puppies and junior dogs ages six months to 18 months competed for AKC Royal Canin National All-Breed Puppy of the Year on Friday, December 14. Only one came out on top.
Aperture I Think I’M Going To Like It Here, a Whippet known as “Lizzie,” was crowned Puppy of the Year by a panel of judges, consisting of Mr. Dennis B. Sprung, Mr. Edd E. Bivin and Mr. Elliott B. Weiss.
Lizzie is owned by Amy Reynolds of Summerfield, North Carolina and bred by Julie Poole of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Group Winners
After winning Best of Breed competitions, the following top dogs went on to win in their respective groups and compete for Puppy/Junior of the Year:
Sporting:
Southern Malmason Jalapeno Business, a Pointer known as “Spicy,” Lisa Lipton Tina McDonnell of Owings Mills, Maryland and bred by Tina McDonnell, Beth T Kirven and Terry Ellis.
Hound:
Aperture I Think I’M Going To Like It Here, a Whippet known as “Lizzie,” owned by Amy Reynolds of Summerfield, North Carolina and bred by Julie Poole of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Working:
Koba’s Snowfall Raise Me Up, a Siberian Husky known as “Agata,” owned by Elvin Izaguirre, Armando Villalobos & Carlos Canto of Nevada, Texas and bred by Elvin Izaguirre, Carlos Canto, and Armando Villalobos of Nevada, Texas.
Terrier:
CH Lamz Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking, a Bedlington Terrier known as “Zoolander,” owned by Laurie W. Zembrzuski and Gabrielle M. Gilbeau of Leesburg, Virginia and bred by Laurie W. Zembrzuski and Gabrielle M. Gilbeau of Leesburg, Virginia.
Toy:
CH Marlex Classy Finale, a Miniature Pinscher known as “Fina,” owned by Armando Angelbello of Davie, Florida and bred by Armando Angelbello/Leah Monte of Davie, Florida.
Non-Sporting:
Soy Girls Got Rhythm De Cimabull, a French Bulldog known as “Gigi,” owned by Romina Ciccale & Romiro Maili of Argentina and bred by Romina Ciccale of Argentina.
Herding:
Reverie Portrait, an Australian Shepherd known as “Georgia,” owned by Leon B. Goetz of Dallas, Texas and bred by Leon B. Goetz of Dallas, Texas.
Want to Watch?
The Group judging and Best Puppy/Junior in Show competitions are available on demand at AKC.TV. Don’t miss the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin on December 15 and 16, 2018. Tune in to AKC.TV, or download the AKC.TV app on Roku, Apple TV, or AmazonFireTV to catch the live stream starting on Saturday, December 15 at 12 p.m. ET. Watch the TV premiere on New Year’s Day on Animal Planet at 6 p.m. ET. Encore performance airs at 12 a.m.