Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Top Dog

Aired February 12, 2003 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: You know in the canine kingdom, this really is the Super Bowl and World Series rolled up into one. The Westminster Kennel Dog show wrapped up its two-day competition last night with the moment that everybody was waiting for, the announcement of that dog judged best in the show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL MCFADDEN, HANDLER FOR "MICK": To get him on the top it just takes conditioning and going to a lot of shows. To get a dog like Mick is just totally luck, because they don't come along very often. And I'm just lucky that I got to be a part of this dog's career.

KARL: OK, so, we've got footage from last night. I mean, this -- this is quite a scene. You look at Mick, a person like me, and I'm a cat person, I've got a Siamese cat. What does it take? I mean, how much time and effort goes into winning something like this? And money, by the way. This is a huge investment, right?

MCFADDEN: There's a lot of money spent, depending on how many shows you go to, a sliding scale kind of -- there's a lot of grooming involved. Mick is a breed that is scissored, so his coat is all scissored, and probably more time spent on it than necessary. It's kind of to help ease my nerves just by having something to do.

KARL: All right, David, the other thing is this show. I mean, the ratings for the show are unbelievable. I believe more people watch this than professional wrestling on cable TV, and there's probably even some overlap between the audience. How big an audience? Why the fascination with a dog show?

DAVID FREI, USA NETWORK ANALYST: Ten to 12 million people watch on USA. They've been doing the telecast for 20 years. Dogs touch us all. I think we have this emotional and spiritual connection with our own dog, and I think people watch because they're kind of like rooting for their alma mater sometimes, maybe their rooting for the dog that's the same breed as the one sitting on the couch next to them, or they're rooting to see who will be the best dog, like Mick here, what a great dog, a great performance, a wonderful lineup.

KARL: What does Mick look like when he rolls out of bed on Sunday morning after a tough Saturday night? I mean, what does...

MCFADDEN: Can't be any tougher than last night. He looks pretty similar. You know, other than a bath and, you know, maybe trim him once a month, he looks very similar to this.

KARL: Best in the show. Where do you go from here? Mick, 6 years old, he's got a big future ahead of him, I imagine?

MCFADDEN: A big future. He's really producing beautifully. And for all intents and purposes, his campaign is over. You know, this is -- it's not the end of the road, but it's...

KARL: When Mick goes into retirement as a show dog and nice leisurely life as a stud?

MCFADDEN: I'm going to say retirement. I'm not going say retirement. But he will not be shown very much, if at all.

KARL: In term of the actual competition, how important is poise out there? I mean, you've got all of these screaming people at Madison Square Garden. I mean, how important is that to winning, and how do you prepare a dog?

MCFADDEN: Well, I'm not really sure how, because this is the third time, and it's the only time I've really had an element of poise, because he thinks they're all there for him, and he's totally turned on about all of the applause.

KARL: We always hear the dog knows who won. Is that true? How?

MCFADDEN: Mick thinks he wins, even when he doesn't. That's been part of our problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: All right, well, there you have it. That was Mick.

Paula, you should know, Mick is on a media blitz right now. And it will include an appearance on PBS' "The Charlie Rose Show." So this is a very high profile and highbrow dog.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 12, 2003 - 09:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: You know in the canine kingdom, this really is the Super Bowl and World Series rolled up into one. The Westminster Kennel Dog show wrapped up its two-day competition last night with the moment that everybody was waiting for, the announcement of that dog judged best in the show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL MCFADDEN, HANDLER FOR "MICK": To get him on the top it just takes conditioning and going to a lot of shows. To get a dog like Mick is just totally luck, because they don't come along very often. And I'm just lucky that I got to be a part of this dog's career.

KARL: OK, so, we've got footage from last night. I mean, this -- this is quite a scene. You look at Mick, a person like me, and I'm a cat person, I've got a Siamese cat. What does it take? I mean, how much time and effort goes into winning something like this? And money, by the way. This is a huge investment, right?

MCFADDEN: There's a lot of money spent, depending on how many shows you go to, a sliding scale kind of -- there's a lot of grooming involved. Mick is a breed that is scissored, so his coat is all scissored, and probably more time spent on it than necessary. It's kind of to help ease my nerves just by having something to do.

KARL: All right, David, the other thing is this show. I mean, the ratings for the show are unbelievable. I believe more people watch this than professional wrestling on cable TV, and there's probably even some overlap between the audience. How big an audience? Why the fascination with a dog show?

DAVID FREI, USA NETWORK ANALYST: Ten to 12 million people watch on USA. They've been doing the telecast for 20 years. Dogs touch us all. I think we have this emotional and spiritual connection with our own dog, and I think people watch because they're kind of like rooting for their alma mater sometimes, maybe their rooting for the dog that's the same breed as the one sitting on the couch next to them, or they're rooting to see who will be the best dog, like Mick here, what a great dog, a great performance, a wonderful lineup.

KARL: What does Mick look like when he rolls out of bed on Sunday morning after a tough Saturday night? I mean, what does...

MCFADDEN: Can't be any tougher than last night. He looks pretty similar. You know, other than a bath and, you know, maybe trim him once a month, he looks very similar to this.

KARL: Best in the show. Where do you go from here? Mick, 6 years old, he's got a big future ahead of him, I imagine?

MCFADDEN: A big future. He's really producing beautifully. And for all intents and purposes, his campaign is over. You know, this is -- it's not the end of the road, but it's...

KARL: When Mick goes into retirement as a show dog and nice leisurely life as a stud?

MCFADDEN: I'm going to say retirement. I'm not going say retirement. But he will not be shown very much, if at all.

KARL: In term of the actual competition, how important is poise out there? I mean, you've got all of these screaming people at Madison Square Garden. I mean, how important is that to winning, and how do you prepare a dog?

MCFADDEN: Well, I'm not really sure how, because this is the third time, and it's the only time I've really had an element of poise, because he thinks they're all there for him, and he's totally turned on about all of the applause.

KARL: We always hear the dog knows who won. Is that true? How?

MCFADDEN: Mick thinks he wins, even when he doesn't. That's been part of our problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: All right, well, there you have it. That was Mick.

Paula, you should know, Mick is on a media blitz right now. And it will include an appearance on PBS' "The Charlie Rose Show." So this is a very high profile and highbrow dog.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com