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Saxon wins ‘Superbowl’ of dog shows

Championship win for local pooch was ‘40 years in the making’
Terry Moffitt with her award winning miniature bull terrier 3-year-old Saxon.
Terry Moffitt with Saxon

A Maple Ridge couple has won what they call the “Superbowl of dog shows,” thanks to their three-year-old miniature bull terrier, Saxon.

After 40 years in the dog breeding game, David and Terry Moffitt watched their entry win at Madison Square Gardens in New York City, at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Saxon had already won almost everything possible, and all that was left was the prestigious 140-year-old dog show.

It’s the second longest running sporting event, behind only horse racing’s Kentucky Derby.

It was broadcast by USA Today and was featured on Animal Planet.

The Moffitts knew they had a chance to take best of breed there, at an event featuring 2,400 elite show dogs of all breeds, all of them dressed up in designer genes.

“We hoped to win. He was No. 1 up to that point,” said Moffitt.

Saxon, of course, got it done. The mini bull terrier is a scaled-down version of the dog breed Don Cherry made popular with his feisty pet Blue.

Saxon has the perfect shape of head for the breed, the “cobby” muscularity that David says the judges want to see, and he moves like the breed should – like he owns the place.

“He’s got a strutting type of gait pattern.”

Saxon swaggered his way to another championship, on the biggest stage, much to the delight of his owners.

He finished 2015 as a record-breaking top mini bull in North America.

“It was a dream come true for Terry,” said David.

There were family and friends on hand to watch the big win earlier this month.

“It was a family event, and there were tears shed – tears of joy.”

The Moffitts have lived in Maple Ridge for 22 years, but their dog breeding goes back 40 years. They switched to low-maintenance mini bulls about five years ago. They had enjoyed some success with English cocker spaniels, but nothing like Saxon.

In 2014, he started campaigning, and was the top mini bull in Canada. This year he became tops in his breed in all of North America.

He won three best-in-show awards, the largest in Albany, Oregon, at a show featuring 1,700 dogs.

Based on his year-long performance in the terrier group, which includes more than 30 terrier breeds from Airedales to Cairns, which takes in 10,000 show dogs in North America, Saxon ranked eighth overall – the highest ranking ever for a mini bull.

His profile as a breeding dog couldn’t be higher, and he will probably compete in only a few selected shows in the future.

He’s also a great pet. The family posted a Facebook video of Saxon playing with a two-year-old, and it went viral.

“Way too cute,” is a common post about it.

“This guy’s got the sweetest temperament,” said David of Saxon.

His real name is Imaginabulls First Edition, and he’s kind of a big deal.

 



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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