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Sit! Stay! These Nice Dogs Just Want Some Attention

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Television is going to the dogs.

USA Network is unleashing six hours of coverage today and Tuesday of the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Discovery Channel is also offering three hours of specials on Feb. 15 devoted to man’s best friend, including “War Dogs,” a documentary focusing on the heroic canines that served in Vietnam, and “First Dogs,” a history of White House canines from Abraham Lincoln’s yellow mutt, Fido, to Bill Clinton’s chocolate lab, Buddy.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, now in its 123rd year, is the second-oldest continuous sporting event in the country, trailing the Kentucky Derby by just a year.

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Started by a group of gentlemen hunters as a way to settle their arguments over who had the best hunting dog, the group decided to start a competition. The site chosen for the event was the Westminster Hotel in New York, which eventually gave the meet its name.

“They put on their first dog show in 1877 and it was a fabulous success,” says David Frei, who is celebrating his 10th year as analyst for the USA telecast. The network’s team also includes Joe Garagiola as announcer and Darlene Vogel, who serves as roving reporter. Roger Caras, a long-standing members of WKC, will introduce each competitor.

American Kennel Club Champions of Record, representing all 153 recognized breeds, compete over the two days for the best in show title. Last year, Ch. Fairewood Frolic (“Rocki”), a Norwich terrier, was the victor. Roughly 5 million people tune in to watch at least some of the show.

“I think most of our audience quite frankly has never been to and never will go to a dog show,” Frei says. “But they watch because they want to see 153 different dogs.”

Though these dogs are champions, Frei says, they are just like any family dog.

“Audiences see them all groomed to the max and in wonderful condition, but they are real dogs,” Frei says. “They go home after the dog shows and they sleep on our couches and steal food off the counter. They are not just some little robot who pops out of a crate.”

USA has been airing Westminster for the last 15 years.

Dogs Make Presidents More Appealing

Meanwhile, Discovery’s “First Dogs,” which is narrated by Kelsey Grammer, is based on the best-selling book “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Best Friends,” by Roy Rowan and Brooke Janis. Rowan also wrote the documentary that features newsreel footage and candid photos from the White House to illustrate the role dogs have played in politics.

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“The Oval Office is said to be the loneliest place in the world,” Rowan says.

First pooches have often made presidents more appealing to voters. Herbert Hoover’s advisors were worried that the conservative Republican seemed too dour. But public sentiment softened after he was photographed holding up the paws of his police dog, King Tut, who looked like he was begging for votes.

“Silent” Calvin Coolidge seemed to melt when he was photographed surrounded with his white collies. Coolidge once said: “Any man who doesn’t like dogs and want to have them about doesn’t deserve to be in the White House.”

“First Dog” touches upon Richard Nixon’s speech about his little cocker spaniel dog, Checkers, which helped bail him out of trouble in his 1952 vice presidential campaign. And Lincoln’s Fido suffered a similar fate as his master--the dog was knifed to death by a drunk on the streets of Springfield, Ill., a few years after Lincoln’s assassination.

Thomas Jefferson wanted all dogs exterminated. “Then he went to France as Washington’s envoy and fell in love with these French sheep dogs,” Rowan says. The author of the Declaration of Independence went on to raise the breed, and also originated the dog license.

Rowan believes Buddy has certainly come to the aid of Clinton during the president’s political problems. “Whenever you see [Clinton] going to the helicopter and coming back, he always has Buddy with him.”

The author takes credit for convincing the president to get a dog. “The last chapter of the book--which came out before Clinton got Buddy--was called ‘The Dog-less White House’ . . . about how Clinton was kind of missing the boat not having a dog.”

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In late 1997, Rowan gave Clinton a copy of the book. “Shortly after that,” Rowan says, “he got Buddy!”

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* “The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show” can be seen today and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on USA; it repeats Tuesday at 11 a.m. and Wednesday at 11 a.m. “First Dogs” premieres Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. on the Discovery Channel. “Ultimate Guide: Dogs” follows at 9 p.m. and the evening concludes with “War Dogs” at 10.

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