By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Next Monday, when Sunni Dunn shows her dog in New York's Madison Square Garden for the nation's premiere show -- the Westminster -- she'll be showing the top-rated representative of its breed in the entire country.
A far cry from a girl who just wanted a dog.
"I always wanted a dog," said the 15-year-old Forrest Citian. "And so I started researching on the Internet, for what kind of dog I wanted. And I found these little guys -- Cavaliers."
Those "little guys" were Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
"We called a breeder that we found on the Internet and she said she had a litter of show dogs," she said. "And I had never really understood what that was. So my grandmother took me to a dog show. And I thought it was real interesting. I was about 12."
"She researched this for a year," said her mother, Lorri Dunn, "trying to figure out what she wanted. And we were telling her no, we had a Schnauzer and two Labs and four kids. But she found this breed and it was relatively expensive, and we just said no way. But Sunni talks to grandmother, and she said okay, we'll do this but you're going to do something with it. You're not going to just throw it out in the yard."
The dog's name is Rattlebridge Adagio, but they call him Gio, which fits him better.
"I train him, but I have a guy who shows him while I'm in school," she said.
His name is Jimmy Moses from Atlanta.
"He met Sunni when she was doing the dog shows, and thought she had what it took to show them, and said Gio was a great little dog," said Lorri Dunn. "He wanted to know if we would let him show Gio. And we hesitated until after Westminster. And after Westminster, we realized he was pretty good and let him take Gio on the road."
At last year's Westminster in New York, on his first try, Gio won best of breed, and advanced to the toy division, where he and Sunni appeared on television.
Since last February, Gio has competed in 150 shows, taking best of breed in 130 of them. He will go into this year's Westminster as the number one Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in the country, and one of the top 10 toy dogs.
According to Sunni, he'll be bathed, sprayed, blow dried and ready. The training he has had will also help, but once in the ring, it's really up to him.
"He has a lot of fun with it," she said. "He loves when people applaud for him. He shines."
Although the innate showmanship of the animal can come into play, there are strict standards.
"They go for the breed standard, like the size, the weight, the markings," said Sunni.
"They don't judge the handler," said Lorri. "They judge the dog, compared to its breed standards. And like in the toy group, they may have 24 toy dogs, but they're not comparing those dogs to each other. They're saying which one's the best of its breed. So it's up to the judge's discretion and what they like best, I think. They're all going to be good dogs, if they make it that far."
"They look for movement," Sunni added. "That's probably his best quality -- his movement."
"And he wags his tail," Lorri continued. "A lot of breeds aren't supposed to wag their tails. But the toy breeds are supposed to show some personality."
If he wins the breed division, Gio, who was 3 this past December, and Sunni will be on TV again in the toy division, even with a shot of going all the way to best of show, in which Gio would compete against the winners from all the other divisions.
Sunni lives with her parents, Lorri and David, and is the oldest of four children -- the others being Ross, 14, Jack, 6 and Susie, 3.
Although she enjoys showing dogs, she said she doesn't think she'll make a career of it, "but as a fun hobby."
Last year, Gio and Sunni won the breed competition early enough for her mom to call the Times-Herald and announce they would be on TV that night in the toy dog division (the breed competition isn't broadcast). This year, they will compete too late in the day for the results to be in the paper. But well-wishers can tune in to the Westminster dog show Monday night to see if they have advanced.
The 128th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show can be seen on the USA Network beginning Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Although the breed competition will not be shown, group competitions -- made up of the winners in the various breed competitions -- will be in the following order: Working, terrier, toy and non-sporting. On Tuesday, the groups will be sporting, hound and herding. Best of Show judging will follow immediately.
Another component was recently completed in the effort to certify Forrest City as an Arkansas Community of Excellence.
The ACE manufacturing and development team of the Forrest City Area Chamber of Commerce prospect team, has completed the ACE requirements outlined by the Arkansas Department of Economic Development.
The manufacturing and development component required the establishment of a prospect team. The team would facilitate site visits, develop a community catalog highlighting information relevant to industrial development and develop an action plan for the future.
The Forrest City committee not only completed the required elements for certification, but also refined the recruitment process by developing a presentation and package for prospects including a CD, two-dimensional drawings of proposed buildings and aerial photos for existing sites.
During the ACE process, the Chamber office also received a technology update to enable faster and more professional service for the community and potential prospects.
The manufacturing and development committee, along with local architect Dave Hodges and personnel from Woodruff Electric, contributed to the development of the recruitment package.
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) process was initiated in Forrest City last year at a community forum held at the civic center.
Community members were invited to share their thoughts on the city's strengths and weaknesses. The forum also gave people an opportunity to vote on what ACE components they felt were important to Forrest City's future. Manufacturing and development was one of the components selected. Following the forum, committees were formed and began working on each component.
ACE is an internationally recognized strategic planning process that is the cornerstone of the community development efforts of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED). ACE provides a blueprint to help communities focus on economic growth by expanding their local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents. 76 Arkansas communities, including two counties and two regional partnerships, have achieved ACE certification.
The Forrest City Police Department and the City of Forrest City will be presenting a night of fun, excitement, and education for all ages.
On Friday Feb. 27, at 6 p.m., at the Forrest City Civic Center, the FCPD will present magician and illusionist Jim Princeton for a night of family entertainment.
Also appearing on this show will be David Silverman and his Amazing Birds. See David perform Magic tricks with his exotic birds live on stage. A special appearance will also be made by Robby the Robot. Robby is a six-foot tall Android Robot who will entertain and educate all that meet him.
There will also be health and education booths set up around the building with all sorts of material on health, wellness, and seat belt safety. Organizations interested in having a booth should call Lt. Eddie Adamson at 633-3434 so arrangements can be made.
The doors open at 6 p.m. so come early and get a good seat for this spectacular show, said a press release.
This program is being paid for in part by a Juvenile Justice Grant from the Arkansas Department of Human Services- Division of Youth Services.