MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Unique competition at Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show

Mar 8, 2013, 7:52 AM | Updated: 8:08 am

Janine Prindle will be competing with her yellow lab Cranberry in the obedience competition at Century Link Field. Prindle is legally blind. Cranberry is her guide dog. (Photo courtesy Seattle Kennel Club)

(Photo courtesy Seattle Kennel Club)

More than 10,000 dog lovers are expected at Century Link Field this weekend for the 75th annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show.

Among the dogs taking to the floor will be a 6-year-old yellow lab named Cranberry. She’s not your average competitor. Cranberry is a guide dog, owned and showed by her handler Janine Prindle.

Prindle’s love of dogs started when she was just a little girl. When she had children of her own, her family started raising puppies as part of a 4H project. Over they years, they raised 30 dogs for “Guide Dogs for the Blind.”

Little did she know, her doctor would diagnose Janine with a degenerative eye disease that would eventually leave her in need of a guide dog of her own.

She is now legally blind. Her field of vision just about ten-percent of what a healthy person enjoys.

“Being a dog lover that I am, I couldn’t imagine me going around with a white cane,” says Prindle. “I can work with my dog, and we can go just about anywhere together.”

That includes dog shows. Janine has been all over the country showing her guide dogs over the years. This weekend, she’ll be bringing Cranberry to Century Link Field for the obedience competition at the Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show.

“She’s a yellow lab. She’s rather a calm dog compared to many labs, and she’s a great little worker,” says Prindle.

Cranberry may be the one directing Janine at home, but the roles are reversed in the ring. Prindle says the lab knows that she’s working when she is wearing her harness.

“When she has just her training collar on, then she knows that I’m calling the shots and she needs to do what I tell her,” Prindle says.

Two thousand dogs are expected to compete this weekend with over 13,000 spectators watching.

Aside from the usual competition breed, agility and obedience competitions, there will be demonstrations by Seattle Police K9’s and dog and human dancing teams.

Tickets for the dog show are $14 for adults, $7 for kids, children 4 and under are free. The show runs from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

MyNorthwest News

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

7 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

8 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

9 hours ago

Grocery store shopper...

Bill Kaczaraba

Ways to deal with Seattle grocery store sticker shock

Seattle grocery store sticker shock continues to play havoc on locals, but there are ways to counter high prices.

10 hours ago

belltown hellcat social media...

Frank Sumrall

Infamous ‘Belltown Hellcat’ social media influencer charged with reckless driving

The social media influencer has been accused of driving 107 miles per hour through Belltown in a Dodge Hellcat.

11 hours ago

KIRO Newsradio gracie awards...

MyNorthwest Staff

KIRO Newsradio anchors receive Gracie Awards for outstanding work

Heather Bosch and Lisa Brooks, anchors at KIRO Newsradio, have been honored by the Alliance for Women in Media with prestigious Gracie Awards.

14 hours ago

Unique competition at Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show