Shelter dogs to strut runway at Best in Show

The Animal Foundation’s Best in Show is “the Westminster (Kennel Club) Dog Show meets the movie ‘Best in Show’ with a little Las Vegas flair,” said Animal Foundation representative Meghan Scheibe.

The 12th annual event is scheduled to feature 50 dogs rescued from the 655 N. Mojave Road shelter, gussied up and ready to complete at 1 p.m. April 26 at the Orleans Arena, 4500 W. Tropicana Ave. The event also includes a VIP brunch and silent auction at 11 a.m. and a pet fair on the concourse beginning at noon. After the pets walk the runway, they are set to be available for adoption.

“Every year that I’ve participated, everybody had found a home,” Scheibe said.

Scheibe described the selection process as “a well-oiled machine.” Starting six to eight weeks before the event, behavioral specialists are on the lookout for candidates during routine intake evaluations.

Scheibe said they’re seeking dogs who can handle the unique challenges of the event. “Are they going to be able to thrive in an environment backstage with other dogs? Are they OK with an audience of thousands of people cheering?”

They also look for a variety of breeds to represent the diversity of pets available. Scheibe said many people think they’ll find only pit bulls, mutts and Chihuahuas at the shelter. But this year’s canine lineup includes a Border collie puppy, a Shar-Pei, a Saint Bernard pup, Lhasa Apsos, miniature poodles, Pomeranians and more.

“What the event does is show people that may not have thought an animal shelter would have a sheltie or Yorkie or a Saint Bernard that you don’t have to go to a breeder or craigslist,” Scheibe said. “You may be able to find a dog you have been dreaming of at a shelter, and you can save a life by adopting and not have to acquire that dog by other means. They may not adopt at the event, but they’ll have that aha moment and be back to the shelter when they want to adopt.”

Once the animals have made it through the selection process, they’re placed with volunteers in foster homes.

The foundation also taps groomers and veterinarians to prepare each pet to look and feel its best. Canine glamour shots are a big part of the preparation package.

Arica Dorff, owner of Pet’ographique, a 2525 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway photo studio dedicated to pets, has been photographing shelter pets for the foundation and other animal rescue organizations since she opened her Henderson studio in 2006. Her passion for rescue photography began in a dog park.

“I had a Weimaraner, and I went to the park and someone else had a Weimaraner and said, ‘Ha ha, he’s available for adoption,’ joking. And I said, ‘Ha ha, don’t want another dog.’ We kept seeing him at the park, and eventually we adopted him.”

Dorff looked her soon-to-be pet up on the adoption website and was convinced they’d loaded the wrong photo since it didn’t look anything like him.

“The color was wrong; the expression was wrong,” she explained.

She wondered if he would have won her heart if she hadn’t met him in person. Dorff had never heard of anyone doing professional adoption photos, so she put out an offer. If organizations or fosters wanted to bring dogs in, she would open her studio to them.

“If it helps, great, if it doesn’t, it’s no big deal, but let’s just see,” she told them. “Social media was just getting really big then. People were just starting to get on Facebook. So we did that, and it just snowballed. All of the other rescues started calling us.”

Now Dorff does about 20 adoption photo sessions a week. During Best in Show, she reserves four full days to shoot photos of dogs up for adoption.

“And they use it for everything: for the program, last year they had electronic billboards, for printed media,” Dorff said. “And it’s fun because they let me do whatever I want. Sometimes when we do projects like this they’ll say, we want all of them on a white background so they match. But The Animal Foundation says, whatever, be creative. So dogs can come in, and I can base the background on their personality or their coloring.”

North Las Vegas resident Joela Flaxa and her daughter Bailey drove an hour through traffic to get photos for their foster pup Delilah, a one-eyed Chihuahua whom Flaxa says has a permanent wink.

Delilah, who is slated to compete in a special needs category for animals who have been injured or may have medical challenges, was a tiny timid stray in need of medical care for her injured eye. Under Flaxa’s watch, she’s blossomed and has been working on house training and socialization.

“She comes to us now and she used to run from us,” Flaxa said as she coaxed Delilah onto a couch for her photos. “She’s a little love bear. She loves to cuddle and be held.”

Delilah is so sweet that Flaxa’s family is trying to convince her they should adopt her.

“We’re already foster failures,” she said. “We have two dogs from them. It’s the best kind of failure to be, a foster failure. You keep them and make them part of your forever family.”

Chris Albers brought in Sirius Black, a collie mix who was startled by the studio and jumped over a wall to escape. No match for Dorff’s triple-door doggy security, Sirius calmed down and posed on a red sofa.

“I think he’s a pretty good dog,” Albers said. “Not great with cats, but our cat is trying to teach him.”

Delilah, Sirius and at least 48 other canine contenders will face off in small, medium, large, variety and special needs categories. Category winners will compete for the top title of Best in Show.

“I say ‘competes’ very loosely,” Scheibe said. “It’s all based on audience applause. Usually, the dog that wins falls asleep or has an accident.”

Westminster or not, the audience has fun.

“I think it’s an awesome event,” Scheibe said. “I would go even if I wasn’t working for the shelter. Every year we add on, make it a little bit bigger, a little more exciting of an experience.”

Best in Show tickets are $9.43 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. For more information, visit animalfoundation.com.

To reach View contributing reporter Ginger Meurer, email gmeurer@viewnews.com or follow her on Twitter: @gingermmm.