November 13-19, 2003

naked city

Dog Eat Dog

Bond ambition: (L-R) Mother and daughter Susan and Gemma Pullar enter dog shows, which pit their prize pooches against each other, but say the competition only strengthens their close relationship. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

There's tough competition at the upcoming Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Show. For one local mother and daughter, canine rivalry hits very close to home.

by Brian Hickey

Sometime tomorrow, bragging rights will be awarded.

On one side is Susan Pullar, a single mother who works in the neonatal intensive care unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. On the other is her 15-year-old daughter, Gemma, a Girls High student.

At 11 a.m., the two will stroll into the Fort Washington Expo Center where, leashes in hand, they -- and their Pekingese pooches -- will vie for a Best in Breed title. And that's important since the award could ultimately put them in position to win a Best in Show at The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows.

The competition itself won't be all that stiff because, in that first round, they're the lone contestants. But don't think for a second that the outcome won't make a difference at their home abutting Pennypack Park in the Northeast.

"Oh, I'm gonna win," declares Gemma, just after meticulously brushing the hair of pooch Cee Jay (a.k.a. Hoong Tao's Whisper in the Wind) in their makeshift basement grooming parlor.

Tending to disagree is her mother, who raises her hand and smiles as she predicts her own victory. While a mother and teenage daughter not seeing eye-to-eye isn't all that unusual -- it's more of a par-for-the-course phenomenon -- competition has drawn these two closer.

"Between being busy with school and work, I wanted something we could hold onto during these tough years," says Susan of herself and her honors-student daughter. "I wish every mother and daughter had something like this."

People hear the words Best in Show and automatically cue images from the same-named movie which satirized the dog show subculture: the married couple that nearly come to blows after losing their dog's favorite bumblebee toy; the gay men who robustly pamper their Shih Tzu, Miss Agnes.

So perhaps it's fitting, since that fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show was held in Philadelphia, that the nation's lone network-broadcast dog show is being held in nearby Fort Washington. (The granddaddy of all dog shows, the Westminster, is on cable.)

But when the local show is broadcast on NBC on Thanksgiving, don't expect the Pullar girls to fit into those not-far-from-the-truth stereotypes.

Sure, through their travels, they've seen similar characters, but their routine and interest rises above mockery -- even if the kids at school really don't get it. If Gemma's victories came in field hockey or softball (the two sports she plays) it might be easier for them to understand what she's talking about after a weekend of competition. But that's just not the case.

"I'll be like, "I won,'" she says, "and they'll say, "That's cool. What did you win?'"

A quick stroll through their home answers the question. Rather than displaying athletic trophies, there's a lone softball surrounded by a dozen Pekingese figurines on the mantle. The walls are adorned with pictures of tiny pooches and of Susan and Gemma receiving prizes.

On the inside of their front door sits a checklist of everything -- from conditioning and brushing out the dogs' hair to packing the car the evening before -- that must be done before they leave for battle, which usually involves a 4 a.m. departure for shows that fall within mom's acceptable three-hour driving radius.

It's not that the Pullars do it on the cheap, but they realize that they're running in circles with filthy-rich peers. To compensate, they comb thrift stores for show outfits and pack their own lunches.

They've been doing just that for about five years now, ever since one of Susan's friends wasn't able to display her dog at a show in New Jersey. The friend asked whether Gemma could step in so she "borrowed someone's big, clunky shoes and threw a dress on in a broom closet." She hasn't stopped since.

Today, they have one competing Peke of their own. (Two other dog owners have entrusted the Pullars with their pets; one of the two is the dog Susan will enter in the competition tomorrow.)

Though the competitions can get a little cutthroat, the Pullars say they're in it for the fun. (All their dogs are microchipped, since they've heard stories of dognappings at shows.) Down the line, Gemma might make a little cash off of handling people's dogs for them, but the ultimate goal is to become a veterinarian. Of course, even though they're eagerly anticipating tomorrow's showdown, they worry about getting a little too wrapped up in the whole thing.

"If anybody ever sees me falling into any of those [Best in Show] stereotypes," Susan says, "they'd better slap me upside the head."

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows, Thu.-Fri., Nov. 13-14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., free; Sat. -Sun., Nov. 15-16, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., $10 ($5 children 12 and younger), Fort Washington Expo Center, 1100 Virginia Dr., Fort Washington, 610-627-1911, www.philadogshow.com.