QV Life

Pick of the Litter

A Queen Village resident has been winning big on the dog show circuit, and not even a global pandemic could stop him.

By Mona Liss

Back in 2017, when Jody Applebaum picked up her newest puppy—a West Highland White Terrier named Hobbes—she couldn’t have known that he would soon be taking the Westie world by storm.

The Queen Village resident had a long history with Westies—18 years’ worth— with more than 150 individual titles for her dogs in sporting events. But she envisioned the show ring for Hobbes.

Hobbes, who is officially registered as Back Bay Jody’s Princeton White Tiger, with a proud Jody Applebaum.

Within a few weeks of bringing the pup home, the pair began obedience and show-handling classes, and Applebaum mastered the ins and outs of grooming.

“Learning to handle a dog in the ring is not as easy as it looks,” Applebaum explains. “Simply becoming comfortable with how to hold the lead takes time and practice. And the dog has to learn how to move and stand correctly and stay focused in the face of distractions.”

The hard work paid off: At his very first show, Hobbes was chosen Winners Dog, a title that earned him the first point toward championship status. In 2019, he finished his championship and began winning points for the next title—Grand Champion. Shortly after that, he took Best of Breed.

Then came COVID.

Like everything else, the dog show world was reeling. With so many shows canceled, Applebaum had to hunt for the ones that remained, and even those had such strict protocols in place, that she had to find a handler to take her place in the ring.

His new handler preps Hobbes for the big show.

Photo: Provided by Jody Applebaum

But Hobbes was unstoppable: He earned his Grand Championship in October, and just a month later, at the National Dog Show, he took Best of Breed.

Applebaum was ecstatic: “I have never felt anything close to the rush of pride I felt watching him walk out onto that blue carpet in the Terrier Group,” she says.

What’s next for Hobbes?

“He’ll continue to show towards his next title,” Applebaum says. “But at some point, his show career will end, and he will go back to focusing on sporting events.”

But a little female arrived recently in Queen Village, all the way from Texas, and, Applebaum reports, she’s well on her way to her championship, and, with Hobbes, starting a new line of Westies. ■