PERRY, Ga. — Friday was the start of the Crossroads of Georgia Cluster Dog Show. It featured over 1,600 entries, including Mika, a year-old "COVID puppy." By her side is 15-year-old Sophia Politino, who says she fell into competing by accident and just so happened to have a dog was a natural.
“I’ve been training her the whole time we had her on lockdown with COVID, and then we took her to her first show as a UKC show, and she went in there and was basically a natural,” says Politino.
On a regular day, Mika doubles as a service dog, but Friday she was a competitor. Winning first in class and running a personal best in the timed 100 -yard dash, Mika rose to the challenge of the day.
The event brought people from all over, including Jimmy Chambers, President of the Southeastern American Kennel Club (SEAKC). SEAKC in with Macon Kennel Club were the hosts of the event. Chambers believes the dog show is an opportunity to enjoy the festivities and see how far the show has come.
“It’s a lot of fun because some of the people who are showing dogs back then are now judging dogs, and some of these handlers can look and see and remember some of these judges they'd shown to when they first starting to get in the business.”
If you’re wondering what’s next for Mika and Sophia, you can find them raking up more ribbons at the next dog show.
“I’ll be going to the United Kennel Club, their premier, and hopefully getting some good wins because that’ll be pretty big,” Politino says.
The competition ends on Sunday. It is free and open to the public at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry.