Kennel Club

A wrong number was listed for the American Kennel Club's Customer Service line in Sunday's Home & Family section. The correct phone number is 919-233-9767.The Sun regrets the errors.So you've made the decision to add a canine friend to your household. How do you choose the perfect companion, the dog who will fit seamlessly into your life, delighting you with its antics, barking ferociously at strangers, enchanting the children, intimidating the neighbors - or whatever else it is you wish your doggie buddy to do?

BELQUEST KENNELS and Cattery of Mount Airy is home to Tabatha's Rollick at Carowby, known to his owner as Aaron, America's top-winning Labrador retriever.Aaron has spent the past 1 1/2 years traveling the American Kennel Club dog show circuit with certified professional handler Joy Quallenberg.Last year, he accumulated the most points in AKC competitions, including 79 best of breed wins and numerous group placings. He was leading in AKC competitions this year and participated in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in Madison Square Garden this week.

When the region's finest canines strut into the 5th Regiment Armory Sunday to put on the dog at the Maryland Kennel Club's annual show, they will be greeted by Eve Ballich.As club president, she won't be showing her champion wire fox terriers in this event; instead, she and other club members will assist with the general operation of the 86th All-Breed Dog Show and Obedience Trial.Other days, though, Ballich is right in the middle of the ring, positioning her dog for the judge's keen eyes.

L. Stewart Cochrane, 81, American Kennel Club judgeL. Stewart Cochrane, a Baltimore resident for more than 20 years and a judge for the American Kennel Club, died of natural causes March 26 in Glenmoore, Pa., where he lived. He was 81.Born in London, he moved to Baltimore in 1923, graduated from Polytechnic Institute in 1935 and attended the Johns Hopkins University.He lived in Roland Park and moved to Philadelphia in 1946.A memorial service is being planned for the World War II veteran, who served in the Army Air Force from 1943 to 1945.

Krissy could have been a contender.Her hair was perfectly coiffed after a last-minute shampoo and clip. She was relaxed after getting encouraging hugs and kisses from her managers. But when it was time for her to prance before the judges yesterday, Krissy didn't make the cut.Such is life on the dog show circuit.The canine contestants in the Maryland Kennel Club's 85th All-Breed Dog Show and Obedience Trial yesterday vied to be the top dog in an intense competition that drew more than 2,000 entries representing at least 135 breeds, from Afghan hounds to miniature schnauzers to soft-coated wheaten terriers.

Due to inaccurate information supplied to The Sun, a story in Monday's editions about the Maryland Kennel Club's annual dog show incorrectly reported the name of the dog that won best in show. The winner was a standard schnauzer named Ch Parsifal Di Casa Netzer.The Sun regrets the error.For Tuffy the Rottweiler, it was dog-eat-dog competition.Tuffy stood in the middle of a makeshift ring in the 5th Regiment Armory yesterday as hundreds of humans circled around, waiting to see whether she would choke, like so many dogs do at the Maryland Kennel Club's annual show.

Tundra's favorite things are animal crackers, kissing, liver and her owners Ed, Jenna and Christopher Lipnickas, not necessarily in that order. If she suspects an animal cracker is nearby, a little frown of anxiety appears on her broad forehead, between her triangular velvet ears, and she gazes up with unblinking, warm, brown eyes and cocks her head.She gets a lot of crackers this way.Tundra is a show dog. Her formal name is American Canadian Champion Northstar's Polar Express, and she's dozing in the back of a van as it rolls through darkness from Dundalk to New York City.

Anne SlagleHomemaker, volunteerAnne Vernon-Williams Slagle, a homemaker and volunteer, died Monday of heart failure at her Golf Course Road residence in Green Spring Valley. She was 82.She was born and reared in Ro land Park, the daughter of Frederick Royallie Vernon Williams, an investment banker who emigrated to Baltimore from England. In his youth, he had been a page in the court of Queen Victoria.She was a 1930 graduate of Roland Park Country School and made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon in 1931.

Judging from my mail, there's always a lot of confusion over pet "papers" -- what they are, what they're for and what they're worth."Papers," generally consist of two forms -- a pedigree and a registration form. The first is a record of the animal's family tree, showing the names of his ancestors, as well as the titles they held; show champions, for example, are often written in a different color to make them stand out.As fancy as a pedigree is -- and some of them can get pretty ornate -- it's the second piece of paper, a nondescript little form, that's more important: It allows you to register your pet with an organization such as the American Kennel Club.

Dr. Leon SeligmanDentist, dog breederDr. Leon Seligman, who practiced dentistry in Baltimore for almost 50 years and who bred terriers and judged dog shows, died yesterday of cancer at his home in the Annen Woods Apartments in Pikesville.Dr. Seligman, who was 83, retired in 1983 from his Northwest Baltimore practice. He was a specialist in prosthodontics -- dentures and similar devices.Born in West Fork, W.Va., he attended West Virginia University then came to Baltimore to attend the University of Maryland Dental School from which he graduated in 1933.