Isabella the Dachshund parades in the middle of a crowd circled around the Crescent Harbor net shed. She’s vying for the title of tiniest dog in town.
“Isabella is a year and a half,” says Kristina Tirman from Friends of Sitka Animal Shelter. “Her favorite activity is going for walks.”
Tirman is emceeing the community’s first-ever dog show.
There are eight categories in all: smallest dog, biggest dog, fluffiest fur, waggiest tail, floppiest ears, best costume, best tricks, and an owner-pet lookalike contest. Tirman’s co-emcee, the city’s animal control officer April Wheldon, introduces the big contestants.
“Spud is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and his favorite things are swimming and chasing fish,” Wheldon says.
For each contest, an owner walks their dog around the net shed while Tirman and Wheldon read off a few fun facts. Then, they line up in front of a panel of judges.
“We are very grateful to have these three judges volunteering their time and their expertise,” Tirman says.
One judge is former dog sled racer Janet Clarke.
What I really enjoyed when I was racing sled dogs is looking at such athleticism. But here, there’s also just the different shapes and sizes of dogs. So fun to look at,” Clarke says.
Some dogs weigh just a few pounds. Others are nearly half their owners’ height, like Walter, a 12-year-old Great Dane competing for largest dog.
“All right, judges. Who’s the winner?” Tirman asks.
They turn to each other and whisper over the scores they scribbled on their clipboards. Once the dogs circle up in the middle, they point to the winner.
“Walter!” Tirman yells as cheers erupt from the crowd.
The Great Dane has officially been named the biggest dog in Sitka. Seth Brown is Walter’s owner. He says he’s relieved his friend isn’t here with her Mastiff.
I was like, ‘Well, if Anna girl shows up, might be some competition,'” Brown says. “Because she’s bigger in the head, like even the bones and stuff. That’s a serious dense dog, not quite as tall, but like bigger than any other dog here.”
Brown and Walter will walk away with a first-place ribbon and gift basket of treats and toys.
“Everybody seems to love him,” Brown says. “Should have put him on Facebook. He’d have like 800 friends by now. I got 32.”
Tirman announces it’s time to judge floppiest ears. That’s the second category Walter is competing in. Walter didn’t end up winning for floppiest ears. Marty, a 6-month-old mini Dachshund, did.
According to Clarke, judging was pretty straightforward. They had to see if the dog met the category’s criteria.
“But it also was about their showmanship and about their charm. Did you notice how many charming dogs there were out there? They were so adorable,” Clarke says.
Although only one dog could win per category, every contestant got a ribbon and was hounded with applause.
