Spotlight New Jersey: Gia Dance Studio in Nutley

Spotlight New Jersey: Morris County Sheriff's Office 

Spotlight New Jersey: Dancing Dreams

Spotlight New Jersey: Warren County Habitat for Humanity celebrates 25 years

Spotlight New Jersey: Art in the Atrium in Morristown

Spotlight New Jersey: Nexus program at Rutgers helps young adults with autism

newjersey

News 12 Staff

69spotloghtnj2_2024-06-09-10-15-44

I'm chatting with Zoe Brewer of Middlesex and of course her dog Bonnie is there with her. You two or at least you got into competing and showing four years ago. Tell me about that. So I got into competing during COVID. It was right after kind of when COVID started becoming bad. I came to Ohio because my mother was working in the hospital and she didn't want me to get sick. So I came to Ohio for my aunt and I fell in love with this puppy and my aunt showed me what it is to show a dog and I trained him and we went to our first show in October of 2020 it just has taken off from there. I've gotten eight ride by champions. It has been a ride, it for sure. And I, I am forever grateful to my aunt and my mother for allowing me tell everybody about all the titles that you carry. You are a breeder. Go ahead breeder. I'm an owner and I'm a handler of English bulldogs. So I co breed with my aunt Shirley Slater Price of Slater Price Bulldogs and she just said bye. Yes. She was like fun and I'm also a junior handler as we know. Um, so I will have hold that junior handler title until I'm 18. They can age out, but I will always be a breeder owner, handle of the bulldogs. And as you said, you own three dogs, Bonnie Bonnie's brother and Cokie. Yes. So Cokie was my first ever bred by champion. Um, we went to na my first ever nationals together and we took reserve winners bitch, which is, that's how you go by girl dogs in the dog show world at the national specialty. And then eclipse is Bonnie's litter mate, brother. So they were from the same litter and he's a champion as well. He finished his championship in one weekend. Now you say you, you talked about your aunt, you say you owe everything to your aunt and your mom. Tell us about that. So my, I owe a lot to my mom because she's allowed me to be away from home. I'm away from home for usually like about half of the year and showing dogs. So it's, I know it must be hard for her. I couldn't imagine letting my kid go. Um, but I owe everything to my aunt as well because without her, I wouldn't have gotten into showing dogs. I wouldn't have been a breeder. It was her passion and she's let me share that with her. What is involved in the sport of junior handling? So junior handling is made, it was made for you to be able to show different breeds of dogs. So if someone needed help outside of the ring, you knew how to do it. And it's really the starting point to become a professional handler, which a professional handler is where you get hired to show other people's dogs. And usually you're out every weekend. I have assisted professional handlers and it's a lot of fun. It's for sure. A lot of work. But junior handling is also the starting point to the future of dog shows because without the juniors, there won't be dog shows in the future.

https://vod.chdrstatic.com/transcode/13fadc8e-bfba-499e-b1dc-31b7758a7dd1/13fadc8e-bfba-499e-b1dc-31b7758a7dd1.transcribe

69spotlightNJ3_2024-06-09-12-50-34

We're talking with a 16 year old who's making waves at dog shows. We're talking about Zoe Brewer of Middlesex. She just competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show in Flushing New York with her dog, Bonnie, who was there at your feet right now. Yeah, she's just hanging out at my feet. She's so cute. Love her. You are involved with a master class right now. What is that all about? So, in junior showmanship, you have three different regular classes that are split up by age and they're also novice and open. So you have three novice classes and three open classes and it's novice, junior novice, intermediate, novice senior and then opens the same open junior, open, intermediate, open senior to get into open the open class, open junior, intermediate senior. You have to get three wins first place in the novice class and then you're an open, you'd never go back to novice. Once you go into open, you're in open to go into the master's class, you have to get 10 best junior wins in a qualifying period. That qualifying period it used to be the same as Westminster, but they changed it. Um So you have to get 10 in that period. I have gotten so far in this period. 15. Thank you. Thank you very much. And this period ends at the end of September, at the end of September, you're 16. As I said, how did you know you wanted to get into this? Because you're one of the younger ones involved. I went to a dog show with my aunt at Edison New Jersey in March when I was seven years old and I loved it. I have always loved the bulldogs and I loved it then, but it never was possible. I was young. I was in school. I wasn't gonna leave home. I couldn't have a dog. And then when COVID happened, the opportunity was there and it was offered and I snatched it up. I was like, let's go. I'm doing it. I love that attitude. Snatched it up. Let's go. What are your future plans? So I will continue doing junior showmanship until I'm 18 and I age out which will be in January of 2026. I plan to continue breeding and owning and showing out of junior showmanship in the regular classes like I already do. Um once I age out, but I also plan to go to college to be a veterinarian that studies in reproduction. What advice would you offer to young people like yourself in pursuing your passion? I would say if you wanna get into this and it doesn't even have to be my passion. It can be any passion, don't ever be scared, do whatever you need to, to get into it. Because if that's what makes you happy, it's what makes you happy. I can't imagine my life without dog shows. Um, it's been a dream and I think it's changed my life for the better and I can, I just never give up, continue doing what you think is amazing and I'm sure it is. Thank you, Zoe. We appreciate that. Good luck.

https://vod.chdrstatic.com/transcode/697f7835-f951-47d0-89c1-cffa92e52ae6/697f7835-f951-47d0-89c1-cffa92e52ae6.transcribe

News 12’s Della Crews spoke to Zoe Brewer about the recent Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Spotlight New Jersey: Middlesex teen and English bulldog shine bright at dog shows

News 12’s Della Crews spoke to Zoe Brewer about the recent Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

More Stories

Spotlight New Jersey: Gia Dance Studio in Nutley

Spotlight New Jersey: Morris County Sheriff's Office

Spotlight New Jersey: Dancing Dreams

Spotlight New Jersey: Warren County Habitat for Humanity celebrates 25 years

Spotlight New Jersey: Art in the Atrium in Morristown

Spotlight New Jersey: Nexus program at Rutgers helps young adults with autism

Spotlight New Jersey: Gia Dance Studio in Nutley

Spotlight New Jersey: Morris County Sheriff's Office

Spotlight New Jersey: Dancing Dreams

Spotlight New Jersey: Warren County Habitat for Humanity celebrates 25 years

Spotlight New Jersey: Art in the Atrium in Morristown

Spotlight New Jersey: Nexus program at Rutgers helps young adults with autism

More from News 12

Replacement for beloved Morris Plains whistle in the works

Partly cloudy, rain possible Sunday in New Jersey

Paying it forward: JBJ Soul Kitchen Chili Cook Off marks 9 years of battling food insecurity

Firefighters called to early morning townhouse fire in South Brunswick

Police: Kearny man arrested for fatal Lyndhurst hit-and-run

Arm position matters during blood pressure checks, John Hopkins study finds

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Ad Choices