A terrier that melts your heart Pancho wows judges at Westminster
Courtesy photo Westminster Dog Show judge Chris Erickson, left, presents American Staffordshire terrier Pancho and his handler, Ed Thomason, with the best in breed ribbon during the show in New York City earlier this month. Pancho was bred and raised in the Inland Northwest.
LOREN BENOIT/Press Ed Thomason’s American Staffordshire terrier, Pancho, won second in the terrier breed category at the Westminster Dog Show last week. They are seen here sharing a loving moment Tuesday during an interview at Thomason’s work in Rathdrum.
He may be a bully breed, but Pancho the American Staffordshire terrier is no bully.
"He loves to sleep, hang out at the house, he loves to play ball," said Ed Thomason, Pancho's owner and handler. "He’s happy. He’s goofy. He’s really no different than anyone else’s dog at home. He just goes around on the weekends and goes to work, as we like to say."
The 70-pound, sweet-tempered canine has some pretty big news to wag about — he just won best of breed at the 143rd annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held Feb. 11 and 12 in New York City.
Ed, who with his wife, Karen, raised Pancho, said that when the winners were announced, he felt overjoyed and proud: "Mostly proud that my wife and I have spent a good portion of our life dedicated to preserving this breed and for us to have our hard work and efforts recognized on such a large stage."
Pancho was just behind the top show dog, King, who was also a terrier.
"It was a proud moment for both of us," Ed said.
Ed, who works at Impact Dog Crates in Rathdrum and serves as president of the Inland Empire Kennel Association, said this is the best any of their dogs have ever done at Westminster, in which they've participated about a dozen times. This was Pancho's second time participating in this historic show.
“It’s the Super Bowl of our dog shows. There’s nothing like it in what we do," Ed said. "To walk on the floor in Madison Square Garden, your hair stands up. There’s 12,000 people in the stands. It’s intense; it’s difficult. It’s difficult to keep your emotions because if you get yourself a little over-animated it goes right down the leash and the dog starts to get over-animated. It’s fun. It’s a lot of energy. It’s exhausting when it’s over."
Westminster judge Chris Erickson shared her expertise via email on what makes the 3-year-old Pancho (show name “Living on the Road”) stand out from the rest.
"HEADPIECE!!!!!!" she wrote. "This young dog’s head is exactly what the standard calls for, broad skull and very pronounced cheek muscles. He has a deep chest with well-sprung ribs and was in superb condition in muscle tone and coat."
Ed said that he and Karen have bred "more best-in-show winning American Staffordshire terriers than anybody in the world," with five best-in-show winners, more than 50 champions and more than 200 group winners.
Pancho was first shown at 6 months old, and just last year he won 68 group firsts, 17 best-in-shows and he was the No. 5 terrier in America. Pancho is owned by five people from around the country as well as Ed and Karen, Ed said, who love him and help support his career in show business, which can be expensive.
But for Ed and Karen, who have shown American Staffordshires for more than 20 years, it's not about the ribbons and the accolades. It's all about educating the world about an often misunderstood breed.
"I tell people all the time, if you’ve ever owned an American Staffordshire terrier, you’ll never not own one," Ed said.
"Two reasons — one is, you find out how great of an animal they are; they can absolutely do anything. It doesn’t matter whether it’s hot, it’s cold, hiking, swimming. They just want to spend time with their people, so they can do anything you ever ask of them," he said. "The second reason is there’s this large misconception about this breed being such a ‘killer,’ if you will, and the minute you own one, you instantly become a protector of the breed and you want to teach people and educate people that this is just a normal dog, a fun-loving animal, and that’s probably the most important thing."