Lexington dog gets her day at Westminster Tuesday

It’s is a big day for a Lexington dog competing at the Westminster dog show in New York.

Lyric, a 3-year-old female Siberian Husky, will show Tuesday, according to an email from Katie Fleming, who owns the dog with husband Reid and Georgia residents Liz Demartino and Lindsey Morin of Trillium Blue Kennel.

Lyric will compete in her breed judging. If she wins the top honor, she will advance to the sporting dogs competition. A win there would put her in the best of show judging – and a run at the top prize.

Meanwhile Monday, two champion dogs from Beaufort and Jasper counties won their best of breed judgings – Jango, a Spanish Water dog from Ridgeland co-owned by Faith Ott and Janet Rahn, and Maya, another Spanish Water Dog co-owned by the women and handled by Rahn, won in her open category as well.

And GrandCru Gianconda, a greyhound from Bluffton owned by Melanie Steele, joined the Spanish Water dogs on the winner’s podium, taking best of breed honors and defending her 2015 title at Westminster Monday.

Much like Gia, Jango went to Westminster with much fanfare, entering the competition as the top-ranked Spanish Water dog in the country. Ott and Rahn’s dog became the inaugural best of breed winner for Spanish Water dogs with his win Monday; 10 Spanish Water dogs were admitted to the prestigious dog show in 2016 after the American Kennel Club officially recognized the breed last year.

Both dogs will compete in their respective breed groups – Jango in the herding group and Gia in the hound group – and will be shown Tuesday as part of the best in show competition to cap the event.

One other local dog will compete on Tuesday as well: Steele’s Lagotto Romagnolo Mack will challenge for best of breed.

Contributing: Staff writer Jane Moon Dail, The Beaufort Gazette’s Matt McNab

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 12:59 PM.