Spinone Italiano of Carson City makes it to Westminster Dog Show final, bichon frise Flynn wins top honors
A Spinone Italiano, Adele, owned by Carson City Deputy Director of Emergency Management Stacey Belt, made the cut to the final sporting dogs at the 142nd Westminster Dog Show in New York City on Tuesday. Ultimately, a bichon frise named Flynn was picked “best in show.”
"What Adele did is exceptional and I’m so proud to have raised her and gotten her this far,” said Belt Tuesday evening following the competition.
Adele will be retiring from professional showing, but at 4-years-old she has already led quite the life and once, she literally ran away with it.
In February 2016, Belt, Adele and two other Spinoni were on a hike when according to Belt, “(they) Took off after what I can only imagine was a deer.”
When desperately called, only Adele’s Grandmother returned while Adele and the other dog Mara continued into BLM land and were lost for nearly a week before being found after seven days — 21 miles away. The search included volunteers, donations from around the world, and a chartered helicopter to search across miles of BLM land.
Adele won Best of Show at a Sacramento dog show out of 1,400 dogs a month after her impromptu and worrisome adventure. She won Best of Show in 2017 and another show in Oregon and is one of the most winningest Spinoni in U.S. history while finishing 2017 as the #1 Spinoni in the nation.
Now that she is retired, Adele will begin working on her therapy dog certification and the fine tuning of her hunting skills with Belt’s husband. Adele’s Grandmother Tizzy is 11-years-old and ready to retire from the field.