Family photo
Gunnar Tokar, 11, and his dog Strider of Laytonsville participated in the Purina National Dog Show that was broadcast on television on Thanksgiving.
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After only six competitions, Gunnar Tokar, 11, and his American water spaniel Strider, 18 months, made it all the way to the National Dog Show, which aired Thursday after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Laytonsville duo didn't win their group, but they've been invited to two of the country's most prestigious dog shows.
The show, taped in Reading, Pa., on Nov. 22, featured 2,000 dogs and 150 breeds and varieties, according to the show's Web site. Strider failed to win the sporting group — that honor went to a samoyed from New Jersey — but he was selected as a semifinalist and got to show his dog on television.
"Most of these people are older and they've been doing this a very long time, so they're very finished," Gunnar's mother Theresa Tokar said last week. "These are dogs that have been winning for many years."
Gunnar started showing dogs about two years ago as part of the county 4-H Kids N Dogs club and entered American Kennel Club-sanctioned shows for the first time in February. Strider became an AKC champion dog in July by racking up 15 points, which are awarded by judges, and two major wins.
"You get to learn a lot about different breeds and you get to pet dogs you haven't pet before," Gunnar said last week.
Gunnar and Strider have entered competed in four competitions. The American water spaniel, a hunting dog, is a relatively rare breed, and Gunnar and his family had to go to shows in North Carolina and South Carolina to find other American water spaniels.
Gunnar has another dog, Cheerful, a Carolina dog. Joining Gunnar and his parents at home is sister Natasha, 13, and her two papillons and Australian stumpy tail cattle dog. Natasha, a 4-H member who wants to become a veterinarian, has been showing dogs for two years.
"He's a little curly cute little doggie," said Gunnar, who plans to train his dog for hunting and agility competitions as well. "They're a great companion, and they're fun to compete."
A spectator at the National Dog Show told his mother that the two were a perfect match. "She said, ‘I knew that dog belonged to that boy because they're both so smiley. They belong to each other,'" Theresa Tokar said.
Gunnar and Strider will compete this month in California at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, which will air on the Animal Planet channel in January. The young pair was invited to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City in February, one of the most famous dog shows in the world, but may not be able to attend. Entry fees, travel and hotel accommodations easily add up, and Westminster may prove too expensive, Theresa Tokar said. But Gunnar isn't after glory, she said — he's just a boy having fun with his dog.
"It's great to see him out there," she said. "Hopefully little kids will see [the broadcast] and say, ‘Look, he's doing it!'"
