Local dog wins best in breed at Westminster

The purple and gold rosette, while not as long as the tufted ribbons awarded for best in show, was almost longer than Allie was tall.

It didn't matter. The 4-year-old silky terrier bitch, bred by a couple out of Monmouth, won the best-in-breed competition and took home the silver-plated first-place trophy Monday during the first day of competition at the Westminster Kennel Club's 140th Annual Dog Show at Madison Square Garden.

Flash, her brother, was the underdog in the family, literally, and he took home a prize as well.

Allie's litter-mate, Flash, owned and bred by Carol Infranca and her husband Lee Schlenker, was the one they kept their eye on most closely going into the competition. He didn't disappoint either, winning the first Select category of the breed competition and a light blue and white rosette. But it was his sister, who is owned by Sanda Hsieh and Margaret Tsui, and whose registered name is GCH Weeluv's Allegro Grazioso, who edged him out for the win. Flash's registered name is GCH Weeluv's M.T. Pockets.

"His sister beats him all the time," Infranca said. "It's sort of like their birth. She was first and was born naturally, and then Flash, came second, and he wound up being a Cesarean section, which cost a lot hence his show name, M.T., which stands for empty pockets, and how were they emptied? In a flash, which is why we call him Flash."

Infranca and Schlenker are walking on air after their wins in the granddaddy of all dog shows. The dogs obviously made an impression at the two-day, all-breed conformation show in New York City. They have now bred the No. 1 silky terrier in the nation, Allie, and the No. 5 ranked silky, Flash.

Infranca said Flash, whom she owns, will return to Monmouth following dog shows in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, California. He joins a pack of other dogs at the couple's home that include his mother and his daughter. She said she'll probably make him available to stud while he spends most of his time chasing balls and rodents, and just being a pet.

The couple, along with co-breeders Sharlene and Paul Bland, were over the moon with the win by Flash. Infranca and Schlenker have been breeding silky terriers intermittently for almost two decades, and were confident that Flash might take the title given that he has been steadily winning awards in the ring since he was six months old.

"He's such a perfect standard, he really is," Infranca said. "We will definitely show him at a specialty show this year."

Flash qualified for the granddaddy of dog shows based on his championship status while Allie was invited to compete in it. The best in show award went to C.J., a 3-year-old German shorthaired pointer out of Temecula, California.

ccurrie@statesmanjournal.com; (503) 399-6746 or follow on Twitter at @CATMCurrie