Jo wins Best in Show at the Charleston KC of South Carolina on Jan. 24. The Judge is Rita Biddle, and the handler is Lenny Brown, who will be presenting Jo at Westminster.
HINTON, W.Va. — Two Summers County canines will be traveling from the hills of West Virginia to the streets of New York City next week to compete in the nation’s most prestigious dog show.
Curtis and Janie Shaver’s German shepherds, Autumn’s Stone Ridge Mojo, affectionately known as “Jo,” and his son, Autumn’s Bamm Bamm, will enter the stage at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 16 to compete in the 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
The Shavers are not new to the Westminster show. In 1997, their No. 1 nationally ranked German shepherd, Autumn’s Shaquille, “Shaq,” won Best of Breed. Jo and Bamm Bamm are descendants of Shaq.
Jo and Bamm Bamm will first compete in the Best of Breed competition at noon next Monday. If either win this title, the next competition will be in the herding group airing live on CNBC from 8 to 11 p.m., Monday night. The winner of the herding group will compete in the Best of Show competition Tuesday evening, airing live on the USA Network from 8 to 11 p.m.
Jo and Bamm Bamm enter the ring with many accolades under their belt. Last month, Jo won a Best in Show title at the Charleston, S.C., Kennel Club show. And Bamm Bamm is the youngest Grand Champion German shepherd to compete for the breed title at Westminster.
Jo is 3 years old, while Bamm Bamm will be 15 months old on Feb. 21. “That’s very, very young to have a Grand Championship at that age,” Janie Saver said, discussing Bamm Bamm’s title.
Bamm Bamm achieved his Grand Champion title at 8 months and 8 days old…
