Roger and Cindy Wright, owners of Roger S. Wright Furniture Limited in Perkasie, show their bassets in AFK (American Kennel Club) conformation dog shows. According to AFK rules, a basset must be six months old to be entered into a conformation show. “We don’t really expect to win points toward their championship when they are that young, but we like to enter them so they get used to it and also for them to have a good experience.”
The Wrights recount Bella’s story of being a show dog. “On February 29, 2020 there were two shows coming up on the day that Bella would be 6 months and 4 days old. During the first show, when it was time for Bella’s class, she was very distracted by the other dog and handler in our class. During the second show she settled down and won her class. Then we went back in the ring with the other class winners, and to my surprise, Bella was awarded Winners Bitch over the other class winners, for her first major win. Then we got to go back in the ring one more time with all of the champions and the winners dog (who had won over all of the male class winners). The judge awarded Best of Winners to Bella,.”
A week or two after Bella’s first win, Covid shut everything down and Bella wasn’t shown again several years. When she was able to be shown, she did well and finished her championship on June 4, 2022.
Bella completed her Grand Championship requirements on Dec 9, 2023. She can then go on to the higher levels of Grand Champions such as Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.