THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 12, 1994 TAG: 9409120078
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICK K. LACKEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
The 187 bassets gathered Sunday at Holly Ridge Manor were goofy with happiness, their mouths agape in doggy smiles.
They were attending the Third Annual East Coast Basset Bash, and they had had no idea there were so many good-looking dogs in the world, so many dogs whose eyes were on the same level as theirs, so many dogs with low rumps for sniffing.
Bassets have been described as half a dog high and two dogs long. So keen is their sense of smell that a square yard of lawn is an entire book; another dog's rump, a biography.
Plenty of reading went on Sunday.
The first year's basset bash was a neighborhood affair at Bob Wood's Virginia Beach home in 1992. Six bassets attended, including his, and last year's bash drew 12.
This year the bash moved to nearly an acre of ground inside a horse exhibition arena in the Holly Ridge Manor Veterinary Medical Center. After Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star columnist Guy Friddell trumpeted its coming, attendance at the event shot up.
Most of the bassets were from Hampton Roads, but 3-year-old Sydney traveled some 300 miles with owners Colleen and Scott Turgeon from Woodbury, N.J. Sydney's toenails were painted pink, and she had a matching cap.
Some dogs wore bandannas, and there were bonnets, rabbit ears and other costumes.
Many ran loose in the arena. Though there were occasional loud discussions, no fights broke out. Bassets are famed for their low-key dispositions, even around rowdy children.
Bassets generally weigh 40 to 51 pounds, but Sunday belonged to 94-pound Rock of Gibraltar, owned by Jeanne Tiedemann of Virginia Beach.
Rock of Gibraltar, who, naturally, was bred out of Texas, was crowned the bash's king basset. The runner-up male was his grandson, and the queen basset was his daughter, Henrietta, 2, owned by Denice and Tom White of Virginia Beach. The queen weighs 61 pounds.
Surely the most unusual basset was Chessie, 7, owned by Marylen and Carroll Melton of Norfolk. Bassets almost always are described as willful and stubborn, but in July Chessie earned the highest American Kennel Club obediencerating, Utility Dog.
In 4 1/2 years of competing with Chessie in three states, the Meltons have never seen another basset at obedience trials. Nationwide this year, only one other basset attained the Utility Dog rating.
Generally, bassets make human toddlers seem obedient by comparison. Part of their charm, their owners say, is that they do whatever they want, though they excel at loyalty and loving. Their large dark eyes are pools of affection.
In a rarity for a hound, bassets were bred not in England or America but in France, where basset means ``low.'' Because they are low, the dogs have tremendous leverage when they pull on leashes.
On Sunday, many a small boy or girl was dragged around the horse arena by a basset.
The dogs are believed to have been bred low-slung so they could sniff the ground easily. Typically a basset is 14 inches high at the shoulders. Its long, wide ears hang almost to the ground. When the dog lowers its head to sniff, the ears brush scents to the nostrils.
George Washington is said to have been among the first Americans to own bassets, a gift from Lafayette after the American Revolution.
The oldest basset at the bash was Prudence, 15, owned by Don and Dee Paske of Virginia Beach.
``They run the show,'' Dee said of the dogs.
``Bassets have a mind of their own,'' Don said. ``As long as you follow their mind, you are in good shape. I don't think I would own another type of dog.''
Also at the bash were Edith and Archie, both born this past Valentine's Day. Each has a lemon heart atop its white head. They are owned by Kelley and Ray Modlin of Suffolk.
Wood said basset bashes will be held annually on the Sunday after Labor Day. The 1995 bash will be at the same location. ILLUSTRATION: Satff photo by JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/
Lucy, a 5-month-old basset hound, peers over the shoulder of her
owner, Tarra Cohen, to see the action at the Third Annual East Coast
Basset Bash. Like-minded, basset owner Russ Smothers, right, also
checks it out.
B\W photo
Buster sniffs his way around the track during judging at the basset
bash.
by CNB