Hollister
– Some people just like being the center of attention. Some dogs
do, too.
Hollister – Some people just like being the center of attention. Some dogs do, too.
Last March, Nancy Resetar’s 6-year-old Australian shepherd, Chance, was named best in show at the world’s largest dog show. But Chance isn’t resting on his laurels.
Although his days as a show dog are behind him, Resetar and Hollister trainer Julie Carreiro are working to turn Chance into a stock dog. Instead of just walking around and looking pretty, Chance is going to be herding sheep.
So what makes a champion dog? A dedicated owner, for one thing. Taking care of Chance can keep Resetar – who lives in Royal Oaks – very busy, and it used to be even harder when she had to commute to Los Angeles once a week so Chance could see his trainer.
“I’m retired, thank God,” Resetar said.
Her friend Linda Vucinich said she was in awe of her friend’s commitment.
“She’s a better mother to him than I am to my children,” Vucinich said.
Resetar said that when she first bought Chance – then a 9-week-old puppy – she had no experience putting dogs in competition. However, she had dabbled in training horses, and dogs seemed like “the same thing, just on a smaller scale.”
Resetar told Chance’s Canadian breeder that although she didn’t have much experience, she’d do her best to raise him into a prize-winning dog.
Less than two months later, Chance was at his first show. When he was about a year old, Resetar retired Chance for a couple of years, because he was in his “wild and gangly” teenage phase. But once he matured, Chance became a champion at competitions around the country.
Chance’s career as a show dog culminated last March, when he beat out 22,000 dogs from 32 countries at the British dog show Crufts.
Resetar said that when he walked into the ring during the final round, Chance was at the top of his game.
“He was showing better than he’s ever shown in his whole life,” she said. “He was just ‘on.'”
When asked if Chance knew that this was his big moment, Resetar said, “I think so.”
The judges noticed too, and they praised what they said was absolutely perfect movement and timing.
Vucinich has accompanied Resetar and Chance to numerous dog shows, but she didn’t go to Crufts – and she still regrets that decision.
“I was in Starbucks when I got Nancy’s call,” Vucinich said. “That’s when I started screaming.”
Resetar said it’s normal for dogs to retire from shows like Crufts when they get to Chance’s age. But he isn’t quitting show business; he’s just learning some new tricks.
Carreiro, who also has a “day job” as the director of Hollister’s animal control department, works with Chance once or twice a week, teaching him to herd sheep. Carreiro said she started training dogs about five years ago, when she injured her hip and discovered how useful a trained dog could be on her ranch.
“A good dog can replace a couple of cowboys,” Carreiro said.
Chance is getting better at directing sheep without getting too close and spooking them, Carreiro said, and she and Resetar plan to take him to his first stock dog competition in a few months.
All of his talents were put to the test on Saturday, when a crew from the British Broadcasting Corporation came to Hollister to film a “one year later” segment on the Crufts champion.
Although the segment – which will air on the BBC in late March, and may air in the United States in May – will only be a few minutes long, the crew spent all day filming.
After an hour or two, the humans involved were clearly becoming a bit weary of requests like, “That was brilliant, do you think you could do it again?” But Chance continued to shine. After all, all eyes were on him. What more could an old show dog want?
“He had a blast,” Carreiro said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
