Community Corner

'Best of Bedford' Dog Show Has Barks and Play

The green in Bedford Village briefly functioned Thursday as an ad-hoc canine hangout for the second-annual Best of Bedford dog show.

About a dozen dogs, of several shapes and sizes, came with their families for the show, which was organized by the Bedford Free Library. The event is geared towards kids, and there was plenty of energy from dogs and children alike. 

The dog show was started last summer as part of a library theme called Dream Big Read, said Children's Librarian Shodie Alcorn. This year it is part of a new theme, which is called Dig Into Reading. 

The dogs vied for an array of categorical contests, including Smallest Dog, Best Kisser and Best Trick. Judging the event was local dog trainer Sarah Hodgson, who fed biscuits to several of the contestants. 

Hodgson, who wrote a dog column for Patch, loves the dog show and called it "organized chaos."

Hodgson also trains dogs, has an online radio show and blogs on The Huffington Post, which like Patch is owned by AOL.

The winning dogs each received certificates, while every participating canine had gift bags ready for them, which Alcorn said included treats.

The show also served as an opportunity for the Bedford Dog Owners Group, also called BDOG, to promote use of the Town of Bedford's official dog park, which is called the Canine Commons at Beaver Dam Park. It is located off of Beaver Dam Road in Katonah.

The dog show represented a good time for some residents.

"It's cute," said Kristin Suchor, who came with her daughter, Bridget, and their dog Freyja, who won one of the awards.

Susan Helbock had the same opinion. She came with her son, Henry, and their dog Prince, who won the Smallest Dog award.

"We want more people to come," said Len Martello, president of the dog owners group, whose members were out with promotional pamphlets.


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