“Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show” by Tommy Tomlinson, April 23, 2024, Avid Reader Press, 185 pages
“They booed the poodle.” If I were Tomlinson, I would have started off with this sentence and gone for whatever prize it is that the best first sentence of a book gets. Because it’s pretty great. And it apparently really happened at one point during the three years the author spent covering dog shows as he prepared to write this wonderful, witty, wise book.
Tomlinson follows Striker (AKC name Vanderbilt ‘N Printemp’s Lucky Strike), a Samoyed, and his handlers, breeders and owners (who aren’t the same people) from the grueling circuit of lead-up shows all the way to the ring of the Westminster Dog Show, which is the most famous and prestigious. We also meet and follow Laura King, Striker’s professional handler.
The author goes through the history of dog shows and tells us just enough about the complicated road to Westminster; it’s a lot for someone with just a passing interest, so it’s good that he doesn’t get mired in the minutiae. He does the same with the specifics about breed standards and how a dog is shown; I’m sure that after three years of research, he could have written a book about just those topics but he just hits the high points — and even then, you know more than you ever thought you would about forming a stack. Just trust me. He makes it entertaining.
A break here because I can’t discuss this topic without a nod toward what many of you are already thinking about. Apparently, the portrayal of dog shows is Christopher Guest’s delicious mockumentary “Best in Show” (if you haven’t seen it, stop whatever you are doing and find it on your favorite streaming service NOW) is fairly accurate.
Striker is a natural. When Tomlinson meets him, he is a rising star and he is poised for the big time. The author notes, “after a while, I could pick out a dog from the crowd and usually be right. I just noticed that some dogs can create joy out of nothing and that joy is transferable. Striker has the vibe.”
And while Striker and the road to Westminster are a main focus in the book, there is so much more. I loved the coverage of one of the best things about the internet, the Twitter account for WeRateDogs (15/10, I wish I had thought of this account), a general coverage and history of humans and their relationships with dogs (which, obviously, could fill volumes) and sections that brought me to tears about Tomlinson’s own dog, Fred, and great dogs he has known, and losing dogs. My husband and I had to put our 17-year-old rescue dog, Cutch, to sleep on Dec. 19, and while we still have two dogs at home, our hearts still hurt. The great ones hit you like that. Tomlinson captures the feeling so accurately.
Tomlinson comments on the amazing rise in popularity (and price) of French bulldogs (despite their health issues). If there’s one complaint to be made about “Dogland,” it’s that the author does not touch on the idea that the demand for purebred dogs increases the problem of homeless dogs in the U.S. According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.1 million dogs enter animal shelters each year, so while dogs like Striker are fun and interesting to read about, great dogs can be had for almost no money at your local animal shelter or rescue. I would feel remiss if I didn’t suggest that people consider adopting a pet.
Before Tomlinson started writing the book, and he was watching Westminster on television, he found himself wondering whether dogs are happy. At the end of his three years of covering dogs, he felt he had some kind of answer: “One way to make the story make sense is to say this: We long for happiness and dogs long for happiness, and we found it in each other, and we put up with all the rest just to hold on to that one precious thing.”
