Best In Show - Dog RP - Open [5/7]

[veralynn]

The Concept
    The Westminster Kennel Club Dog show was about to hold the best in show round when animal rights activists set as many of the dogs loose as they could and pulled the fire alarm. With the resulting chaos taking too much time to settle the final round was postponed. Luckily the judge of that round, Esther Gardiner, offered up her family estate to host the owners and the final round. Now two weeks after that debacle all the owners and handlers are headed to the Hamptons to ferry over to Gardiner Island. They will be arriving Friday afternoon and get the enjoy the island over the weekend. The final round will be held outdoors on Sunday, taking advantage of spring weather and the beauty of the island. 

    Unfortunately a freak cyclone brews up in the Atlantic and hits the Hamptons that Saturday. The boats used to move between the island and the mainland is destroyed. Though because they have enough supplies for at least two weeks the Coast Guard tells them they will have to wait while more urgent situations are addressed. Esther Gardiner convinces everyone to run the show that afternoon, albeit in the grand ballroom of the house. Now after the cyclone stranded them, they finally know who the winner is and then must continue to be civil with each other for several more days. 

This is based off my original Best in Show rp from HR that is now running on discord. You are welcome to join if you signed up for either or them or none of them. The only thing is if you are in the discord version I do request you select a different breed group. If you only signed up on HR you may select the same breed group and use the same character; Though I did make some changes to the forms so you cannot exactly copy and paste. 

The Rules & Explanations
1. Only one character per breed group. You may reserve a spot as long as you either message me or clearly state it at the top of your post. Forms partially filled out with breed group but no reservation notice at the top does not count. 
2. Only one character per person, this does not include the side characters that could occur if you have an owner only or handler only. This may change depending on how many people are interested, if at least half of the spots are still open after a week I will consider secondary characters. 
3. Five max of each gender identity and you may use whatever identity you wish.
4. All dogs must be between 1 year and 10 years, though keep in mind most winners have been between 2-6. This is because to qualify for Westminster they must already have a champion conformation title, something they can start working towards at 6 months. 
5. Please follow age requirements for the respective character roles.  Though it is important to note the dog show world tends to be older especially when looking at breeders, still there is an upper limit of 50. 

• Owners - Must have been at least 18 when they purchased their dog, so just add you dog age to 18 if you wish to have the minimum age requirement. If you are doing an owner only please include a name and photo for the handler that will be accompanying them to show the dog.
• Handlers - Must be at least 20, this is gives them at least two years experience as adult handlers. Though they could have started as junior handlers run from 9-17 so they could have been doing this for years. If they are a handler only please include a name and photo of the owner in the dog section as the owner will be accompanying the dog to the island. 
• Breeders - Must be 28+, this gives them enough time to have established themselves and have at least 2-3 generations of dogs. Most if not all Westminster breeders have been around for a while in order to reach the top of their breed. If your character is a breeder they must also be either a handler or owner as breeders were not invited. 

6. These are top show dogs and they should fit within all breed standards, though don't feel like you need to stick with what is typically seen(ex: most, if not all border collies in the best in breed round tend to be black/white, there are loads of other acceptable colors). Additionally they need a good breed specific temperament and must be intact. AKC website has great resources for all their breeds if you need inspiration. 
7. All character and dog sections need to be completed unless optional. Kennel forms are optional and you may select which parts to fill out(just delete unused sections). 

• Human/Dog appearances need to be written, ideally at least 2-3 sentences. Dog photos are required while human photos are optional but must be photos of people(drawings/cartoons/anime are not allowed and AI photos are discouraged)
• For Human backstory it needs to be about your character's whole life and include any important details. Minimum 4 sentences. 
• Kennels need to be around for at least 6 years and have a semi-established line. This just gives the chance for the dogs parents and potentially grandparents to have been bred at that kennel(assuming minimum breeding age is 2+). 

8. There is no posting order but refrain from turning this group rp into 1x1. Ideally wait for at least 2 people to reply before you post again, but you can totally reply after 1 person is if has been a day. 
9. Posts should be at least 100 words/1 paragraph roughly. Really you just need to pay attention to what is going on and offer up something that others can interact with if they chose. 
10. I will be spinning all player made characters on a wheel to pick the winner(5 times per number of characters, ex: 3 characters would be 15 times). If there is a tie after spinning, I will spin an additional 5 times to pick the winner and if there is still a tie it will go to the group that hit the highest number first. 

• If someone has multiple characters they must select only one to be placed on the wheel. 

The AKC Staff & Best of Breeds
Judge - Esther Gardiner - 62, female - She has been in the dog show world since her early twenties, though she had grown up with english cocker spaniels. Esther owns the estate they show will be held at and so she has brought several of her favorite dogs (L to R: Sadie, Ted, Ruby, and June) with her; She plans to stay after the weekend to vacation. She had previously won BiS twice, 22 years ago the first time and more recently 3 years ago with Ted. She is a very sweet, gossipy woman who can be prone to distractions outside of the show ring/dog world. Esther will be one of the main two people who will be helping the owners/handlers, mainly with regards to staying at the estate though.
Show Steward - Edward "Ed" Clark - 41, male - He has been around dog shows his whole life and started as a junior handler. Ed does breed labrador retrievers, though in very small numbers with one litter every two or three years. He is a much more steady, unflappable person who seems never seems shocked by anything. Ed will be the person owners/handlers would go to if they have questions or problems regarding the show. 
AKC npcs - Five other people to handle the behind the scene things and make sure everything is following standards. Two women and three men, they really are in the background and deal mainly with Esther.

Sporting - LWR Riders in the Sky owned & handled by Sorya Jones of Lone Wolf Ranch [AlaskaAirGirl]
Hound - Sorkin's Silver Spector owned & handled by James Hunnicutt of Sorkin Borzoi [VeraLynn]
Working - CK Eye of the Storm owned & handled by Stella Fortin [Mainehorse]
Terrier - Open
Toy - Open
Non-Sporting - CGD Evelyn Greene's Lady in White owned & handled by Allysa Rodgers [Illumine]
Herding - PCD Across the Seven Seas owned & handled by Grayson Mitchell of Phoenix Cattle Dogs [Brooke0518]

[veralynn]

Character Form
Name |
Nickname |
Age |
Gender, Pronouns, & Sexuality | (sexuality is actually optional as it provides nothing in context of the rp)
Role |

Appearance | (with written description a height and general body shape would be nice)

Backstory | 

Why [breed]? |

Extra |


Kennel Form
Kennel Name |
Prefix |

Owners |
Years in Operation |
Location | 
Breed(s) | (While you can breed more than just the show dog breed there is a limit of two additional breeds. All breeds though must be akc accepted breeds or foundation stock service breeds.)

Brief Description | (what the kennel looks like, how they run things, the history, whatever you want)

Extra | 


Dog Form
Registered Name |
Callname |
Breed & Group |
Age |
Gender |

Owner |
Breeder |
Handler |

Height & Weight |
Appearance |

Personality |

Pedigree |
Backstory | (optional)

Extra |

[veralynn]

Name | James Hunnicutt 
Nickname | Jay - other than his parents, everyone calls him Jay to the point people are surprised to learn Jay isn't his legal name. There really isn't a reason he goes by Jay and he can't even remember why he started using it. 
Age | 30
Gender, Pronouns, & Sexuality | Male, he/him, bisexual
Role | Owner, breeder, & handler

Appearance | An average kind of tall at 6'(though loves to claim he is 5'10 or 5'11 because he is clearly taller than guys who are saying their 6'2). He is neither muscular nor skinny, a rather normal build of someone who occasionally goes to the gym and stays active. His hair and beard are a dark brown, kept neatly trimmed though not the shortest. His eyes are a blue though they do have a hint of grey and are darker around the iris.

Backstory | Jay grew up in a military family, often moving around every few years. His older two sisters never had a problem settling in though he would always struggle a little bit at making new friends. One constant though was the retired greyhounds his mother always adopted. Jay was always the one who helped his mom care and retrain the dogs. He ended up going to college in Madison, Wisconsin and it was there he met Milena. They moved in after he graduated and ended up purchasing a hobby farm out in the country. When her parents decided to step back from breeding they took over, relocated the kennel to their property. Of course they continued on with their lives outside of breeding, Milena is a vet tech and Jay works in computer programming, not to mention they are now expecting their first child shortly. 

Why Borzoi? | So he is involved in Borzoi because Milena loves them and her family breeds them. Still he does love all sighthounds. 

Extra | Still helps with rehoming retired racers on the side and currently does have one greyhound living amongst their borzoi. 


Kennel Form
Kennel Name | Sorkin Borzoi
Prefix | Sorkin's

Owners | Milena & Jay Hunnicutt
Years in Operation | 35
Location | Just outside of Madison, Wisconsin
Breed(s) | Borzoi

Brief Description | - somewhat small, tries to place with breeding contracts to limit the number of dogs they have in their house
- Rural location with a barn/pasture they dog proofed, though this was a more recent move and previously was in a semi-suburban area. 

Extra | Previously was owned by Milena's parents Ivan and Natalia Sorkin, though they have passed over the kennel to their daughter and now only occasionally assist. 


Dog Form
Registered Name | Sorkin's Silver Spector
Callname | Spock
Breed & Group | Borzoi, Hound Group
Age | 3
Gender | Male

Owner | Milena & Jay Hunnicutt
Breeder | Jay Hunnicutt
Handler | Jay Hunnicutt

Height & Weight | 32 inches and 87 pounds
Appearance | silver brindle with white irish 

Personality | Relatively calm and quiet, though a touch stubborn as the breed doesn't have the same level of biddability as the average dog. He could be described as devilishly smart as well, one of those dogs you need to stay a step or two ahead of. 

Pedigree | Ivanova’s Winter Solstice x Sorkin’s A Woman’s Intuition
Backstory | - Was actually paired up by Jay as his first official litter so that was very exciting to him. 
- Has titled in both conformation and lure coursing, is currently working on a dock diving title as well. 

Extra | - Jay is not his normal handler, Milena tends to take care of that but she wasn't comfortable with flying. 

[AlaskaAirGirl]

What would Husky be in?

[brooke0518]

Character Form


Name | Grayson S. Mitchell

Nickname | Gray

Age | 27

Gender, Pronouns, & Sexuality | (sexuality is actually optional as it provides nothing in context of the rp): Male, He/Him, Straight

Role | Owner, Handler

Appearance | Grayson is very tall, standing at 6'2.  He is a very athletic person, having been on both the high school and college tennis teams.  He has a lean, athletic build, since he loves to be active.  He has a light complexion, with short brown hair and hazel eyes.  He wears a lot of earthy tones and he likes wearing camo.  Because he lives somewhere that gets very hot, he also likes to wear sunglasses often, as well as a hat of some kind.



Backstory |Grayson has grown up with Australian Cattle dogs, ever since he was a young child, but it wasn't until he was in college, where he really became interested in the breed, and came back to help his family.  Before, he was more invested in sports, than breeding and showing dogs.  He still prefers athletics, even with dogs, but he wants to give Sinbad a chance to show what he can do in the show ring, before moving to agility.


Why [breed]? | He started getting into the family business, because he loves active breeds.  He has always looked for a breed of dog, after he moved out, that matched his active lifestyle.  He has grown up his entire life, around Australian Cattle Dogs, and has always been rather attached to them.

Extra | N/A



Kennel Form

Kennel Name | Phoenix Cattle Dogs

Prefix | PCD

Owners | The Mitchell family

Years in Operation | 33 years

Location | Phoenix, Arizona

Breed(s) | (While you can breed more than just the show dog breed there is a limit of two additional breeds. All breeds though must be akc accepted breeds or foundation stock service breeds.) Australian Cattle Dogs

Brief Description | Phoenix Cattle Dogs was founded by Grayson's maternal grandparents, in Little Rock Arkansas, when they were in their sixties.  Three years after it was set up, Grayson's grandmother had to stop, due to needing to take care of her husband, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  Grayson's mother then took over, but because she was living in Phoenix, she asked for her parents' permission to move the kennel to Arizona, where it has remained for the last thirty years.  The kennel is located more on the outskirts of the city, because the breed needs ample room to run around.  Grayson's uncle owns a cattle ranch, where the young dogs go, not just to get exercise, but to also stay close to their roots, so that they know how to do their job, since most of the puppies often go to cattle ranchers, if they don't go to the show ring.

Extra |The kennel initially began in Little Rock Arkansas, before the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona.  The kennel was in Arkansas for three years, before moving to Arizona, where it has been for the last thirty years.


Dog Form

Registered Name | Across the Seven Seas

Call name | Sinbad

Breed & Group | Australian Cattle Dog

Age | 5 years old

Gender | Intact male

Owner | Grayson Mitchell

Breeder | Lauren & Tyson Mitchell

Handler | Grayson Mitchell

Height & Weight | 20" & 48 lbs

Appearance |




Personality | Sinbad is a very determined and intelligent dog, who needs someone, who can complement his very energetic personality.  He can be high strung and excitable at times.  He doesn't really do well with young kids, since they are loud and want to jump all over him.  He has a strong sense of duty, and will do whatever Grayson asks of him, since he gets a good mental challenge, from what Grayson asks of him.  He's a good watchdog and is protective over his home.  When he is in the arena, he is very focused and has great focus to stay on task.


Pedigree | PCD Queen of the Coral Reef x PCD A Pirate's Treasure


Backstory | (optional) Sinbad comes from a long line of well bred cattle dogs.  He is from the fourth litter of Queenie and is the second oldest of a litter of seven.  Because Grayson got first pick of the litter, he picked Sinbad, because his fiery red coat and large eyepatches caught his attention, as well as his high energy personality.


Extra | There are plans to turn Sinbad into an agility dog, when his time in the show ring is over.

[mainehorse]

Character Form 

Name: Stella Fortin

Nickname: None yet

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Straight

Role: Owner & Handler


Appearance: Click (hair is all black) - Stella stands in at about 5'3 and has an athletic build. She has mostly black hair that falls down to about her shoulders and grey eyes. She typically keeps her hair down and wears a pair of blue jeans with a long sleeve shirt and a pair of comfortable running shoes

Backstory: Stella grew up in a rural part of Maine with her parents, and her older brother. Around the same time she was born, her parents had recently adopted a newfoundland puppy whom they called 'Buckley' and they were practically inseparable from the start. He passed around the time Stella was eleven. In his memory, her parents opened up Creek's Run Kennel and have maintained a small but well cared for population of newfoundland dogs ever since. Stella would frequently help out with the dogs whenever she wasn't in school and as such grew close to many of them.



Why Newfoundlands: Stella has always been found of newfoundland dogs after developing a very strong bond with her childhood Buckley. So naturally when her parents offered her the puppy whom she had been bottle-feeding she agreed whole-heartedly. 


Extra: N/A




Kennel Form


Kennel Name: Creek's Run Kennels

Prefix: CK


Owners: Adeline & Thomas Fortin

Years in Operation: 15 years

Location: A little ways outside Jackson, Maine

Breed(s): Newfoundlands

Brief Description: Creek's Run Kennels is located in some distance away from the town of Jackson. The main building is situated nearby a creek that runs through the property, hence the name. The dogs of Creek's Run Kennels typically enjoy splashing around in the creek. They have large open runs for the dogs as well. 

Extra: N/A




Dog Form


Registered Name: Eye of the Storm

Call name: Storm

Breed & Group: Newfoundland - Working Group

Age: 4 years old

Gender: Intact Male



Owner: Stella Fortin

Breeder: Adeline Fortin

Handler: Stella Fortin



Height & Weight: 28 inches at the shoulder & 140 pounds

Appearance: Click - Storm has a thick black and white coat (202) and gentle brown eyes


Personality: Storm is a gentle giant. He can be quite protective of those he considers to be a part of his pack but as long as he doesn't feel those closest to him are being threatened, then anyone he meets will be greeted as though they are a best friend. He likes to play and enjoys spending time outside playing fetch or tug of war but also loves spending time just cuddled up inside with Stella. He doesn't bark much unless he's trying to alert his family to something he feels is off.



Pedigree: CK's Stormy Skies x Ck's Calm Before the Storm

Backstory: Storm was born amongst a large litter of ten puppies to Stella's parents' dogs Storm Skies (Sky) and Calm Before the Storm (Cyclone). This was their second litter. Since the litter was so large, Storm being on the smaller side at birth struggled in the pecking order and wasn't getting enough to eat, so Stella stepped in to supplement his diet with formula and the two became close from the time he was young. 


Extra: N/A

[AlaskaAirGirl]

Character Form
Name | Sorya Jones
Nickname |
Age | 23
Gender, Pronouns, & Sexuality | (sexuality is actually optional as it provides nothing in context of the rp) Female - Straight- she/hers
Role | Handler (This is Sorya's first time showing since Lauren is now pregnant with her second child. She asked Sorya to take over while she was on maternity leave as well as before the birth.

Appearance | (with written description a height and general body shape would be nice) Sorya Height: 5'6 Weight: 125

Sorya has slightly tanned skin from her work in the sun. But during the winter, it turns to a lighter color. Her long brown hair is straight, but sometimes she likes to pull it back halfway into either a braided hairstyle or just into a half-ponytail. She has brown eyes the color of chocolate. Sorya is your typical country girl as she wears a lot of jeans, western cut shirts, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats.

Backstory | Sorya was born in Dallas, TX when her parents Lane and Alice Jones were visiting Alice's parents. For most of Sorya's life, she lived on Lonestar Ranch in Elk City, Oklahoma where her family trained quarter horses, paints and other stock horses. Sorya had gone down to Texas for a horse show where she met her future fiancée, Austin in Fredericksburg, Texas when she was 20. Austin at the time was working with his grandfather on the ranch where they bred both quarter horses and Golden Retrievers. Sorya and Austin kept a long distance relationship for a few years, seeing each other every couple of months. Most of the time, Austin came to see Sorya. It was then when Sorya turned 23 that he purposed to Sorya and that she finally decided to move down to Texas with Austin. She started helping with the training of horses and learning about Golden Retrievers from Austin's grandfather.

Why [breed]? | George's favorite breed is the Golden Retriever. George gave his fiancée Beth a golden retriever puppy as a gift of their first anniversary of being engaged before they got married. Ever since, they have been wanting to breed the finest golden retrievers for dock jumping.

Extra |George and Beth had to take a year off from breeding and training when their son, Levi and his wife Amanda died in a car accident when Austin was 5. His sister, Lauren was 7 at the time. George and Beth had to adjust to taking care of Austin and Lauren full time.


Kennel Form
Kennel Name | Lone Wolf Ranch
Prefix | LWR

Owners | Austin Woods and Sorya Jones
Years in Operation |
Location | Fredericksburg, Texas
Breed(s) | (While you can breed more than just the show dog breed there is a limit of two additional breeds. All breeds though must be akc accepted breeds or foundation stock service breeds.) Golden Retriever

Brief Description | (what the kennel looks like, how they run things, the history, whatever you want)
Lone Wolf Ranch is a 350 acre ranch that is used not just for breeding hunting and dock jumping dogs, but also American Quarter Horses. There is a large lake on the property where the dogs are trained for both dock jumping and hunting. The dogs are kept in the main house where they are able to be treated like members of the family. Now that George and Beth are retiring, the dogs will stay with Austin and Sorya in their house near the lake. The breeding program for breeding golden retrievers started when George gave his then fiancée Beth a golden retriever puppy named Minnie. Minnie soon got pregnant where George and Beth decided to sell the puppies. Soon, they learned about dock jumping and decided to train the dogs in dock jumping from a friend. Beth used Minnie as a show dog for many years until Minnie passed away due to old age. Now up in age, it is time for Austin and Sorya to take over both the ranch and the golden retriever breeding program. When Beth got to old to show dogs, Lauren, Austin's older sister started showing the dogs. But now Lauren is 8 months pregnant and needs to rest. She asked Sorya to take over showing for the time being.

Extra |
This is Sorya's first time showing since getting engaged to her fiancée, Austin Woods a year ago after moving from Oklahoma to Texas. Austin's family breeds Golden Retrievers for hunting and dock jumping along with American Quarter Horses. This is Austin's first year with taking care of the dogs since his grandparents are going to be retiring from breeding.


Dog Form
Registered Name | LWR Riders in the Sky
Callname | Dakota
Breed & Group | Sporting\Golden Retriever
Age | 3
Gender | female

Owner | Austin and Sorya Woods
Breeder | George and Beth Woods (Austin's grandparents)
Handler | Sorya Woods

Height & Weight | 24 in - 60lbs
Appearance | Dakota
Dakota is a light golden color with chocolate brown eyes. She has light feathering on her legs and chest.

Personality | Sweet, loves to be in the water

Pedigree | LWR Night Rider x Piper's Skywriter
Backstory | (optional)

Extra |

[veralynn]

If everyone could finish up their forms by this weekend I’m hoping to get this rp started.

[veralynn]

Everyone who has a completed character form can now start posting on the rpg thread

[Illumine]

I am assuming this is still open. heh

Character Form
Name | Allysa Rodgers
Nickname | N/A
Age | 34
Gender, Pronouns, & Sexuality | Female, She/Her, N/A
Role | Owner Breeder Handler

Appearance | (5'4'' & 135 lbs.)  A pale freckled face framed by long ginger hair usually tied up in a tight bun. She has fewer curves than most women but takes pride in her diversity without being too pushy about it.

Backstory | Allysa was born into a wealthy family in the city. She had fallen in love with her grandmother's business Evelyn Greene's Dalmations. As Allysa got older, she started to run the business and it became a more renowned facility across the city. She changed the name, still honoring her grandmother's last name, and started entering the Dalmations into shows again. something her Grandmother had to stop due to a money crisis. Now Allysa works with 23 employees and a large facility at her service. handling the best herself.

Why [breed]? | Allysa's grandmother had been working with Dalmations ever since Allysa was seven. Her eyes sparkled with delight the first time she saw them. what's more to ask? The stark white pelts contrasted with the black abstract spots on top. She could never keep her eyes away, and soon she was taking over her Grandmother's wishes

Extra |
Kennel Form
Kennel Name | Chicago Greene Dalmations
Prefix | CGD

Owners | Evelyn Greene and Bobby Greene
Years in Operation |56 
Location | Chicago Illinois
Breed(s) |  Dalmation

Brief Description | (what the kennel looks like, how they run things, the history, whatever you want) A large breeding and training facility for Dalmatians including many skilled workers that have been working since the start. It has 23 employees with a dog-friendly atmosphere and good lighting.


Dog Form
Registered Name | Evelyn Greene's Lady in White
Call name | Lady
Breed & Group | Dalmation & Non- Sporting dogs
Age | 2
Gender | Unspayed Female

Owner | Allysa Rodgers
Breeder | Allysa Rodgers
Handler | Allysa Rodgers

Height & Weight | 22.6 in & 57 lbs
Appearance | Uh... Stark white coat with black markings most abundant on her neck, but feathering out to the other parts of her body. Very little on the face.

Personality | A more uptight Dalmation, but still relatively friendly and playful.

Pedigree | (sire) Evelyn Greene's The Ghost of Havener Court x (dam) Evelyn Greene's Lady of Paris

[veralynn]

Yeah it’s still open and you’re good to go. The rp thread is up if you want to get started.

[brooke0518]

My character is all done, so you can add him.