Young dog handler gets top award

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Poudre High School sophomore Marnie Bellmyer spends most of her weekends on the road going to dog shows and bringing home numerous awards.

All of the honors garnered in 2005 gave her enough points to be named the No. 1 junior handler in Welsh Springer Spaniels.

Now 15 years old, Marnie started showing dogs as a 4-H project at age 8. She remains active with the Livermore Wranglers, serving as club secretary and taking dog and photography projects this year. Instead of showing at the county fair, however, she'll be at another dog show in Canada.

Marnie usually shows with Gracie, now 4 years old. Two Welsh Springer Spaniels live at the Bellmyer household and Marnie co-owns six more. "I love dogs and I have had dogs all my life," she said. "When you show, you have a great bond with your dog."

To be a show dog, Gracie exercises at least one to two hours a day. She's bathed and trimmed weekly, and Marnie and Gracie have to practice a couple of hours a week.

Waiting in the wings is Rudi, an 18-month-old golden retriever, who will become Marnie's show dog when Gracie retires.

Marnie's goal is to show at the Eukanuba Invitational. Only the top 25 in a breed are invited. To be among them, she needs four more wins by October.

The young handler from Livermore thinks of her enthusiasm for dog shows as other high school athletes think of sporting events. She takes homework with her, makes up class work, gets good grades and keeps herself and her dog in shape for the next competition.