Top dog: Ella beats 340 other female Golden Retrievers at national competition

Carroll County is on the dog map. Ella, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever, owned by Rachelle Porter, of Redstone, captured Winner's Bitch recently at the 68th Annual Golden Retriever Club of America's National Specialty in Warwick, R.I., beating 340 other females from across the United States and Canada.Not bad for a puppy who was only entered to gain ring experience.Porter, who has 12 dogs, returned home from the competition last week with two large rosettes after Ella won the American-Bred Class, beating 43 other bitches, and then took top female earning another blue ribbon and a stunning two-foot-tall trophy that she'll be able to keep for a year.Nearly 1,100 Golden Retrievers descended on the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick for a week of competition. Among the dog owners attending were Porter and fellow Carroll County Kennel Club members Dorothy and Carl Lindblade, of Stow, Maine, who brought Ella's relative Peter to the show. Peter competed in Rally Obedience and earned his first leg toward the title. Dogs must qualify in three legs to obtain a Rally title, with a fine score of 93 (100 is perfection while passing is a 70).Porter has been showing dogs, mostly Goldens and long-haired Dachshund, and has competed at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Show in Madison Square Garden a number of times. She took 10 dogs to this year's Nationals, which began Sept. 22. She wanted to get Ella's feet wet, and that happened literally as it poured with the remnants of Hurricane Kyle soaking the outdoor show ring."She hasn't done anything; she hasn't been out," Porter said. "These were her first points. It was a shock."According to www.grca.org, the Web site for Golden Retriever Club of America, which has been in existence since 1938, "The Golden Retriever is a very versatile cheerful dog that enjoys participating in many activities and events. Our responsibility is to promote the temperament, appearance, soundness, natural retrieving and hunting abilities of the Golden Retriever. Our members are dedicated to the responsible breeding and ownership of the Golden Retriever. We advance and protect the interests of the breed through events, education, The Golden Retriever Foundation, research and Golden Rescue."Porter thought the judge, Dr. Daniel Dowling, might like Ella, who was shown by Porter's friend Pam Desrosier. "We knew he was going to like them small and red," she said. "Although that's what we thought, the other bitch I have is small and red. Both my Open bitches are blondes. I figured they were both just there for the ride because they weren't going to do anything. But in the Bred-By-Exhibitor class, the other one, this nice dark red bitch, made it down to the final cut, but his four line-ups were all blondes. I was standing with John Chase, who is a judge, and he said, 'Well, there goes our theory, small and red.'"I really didn't know what (the judge) was going to do at that point," Porter continued. "We were watching everything and (the judge) just never took his eyes off her. Everyone kept saying, 'You've got this, you've got it; he can't take his eyes off her.' The only thing (Ella) was doing is she did not like her lead. She kept shaking her head, so we ran quick and got another lead and slipped it on her. She did good."Porter believes Ella, whose registered name is Gingerrun Positivey Saquish (Saquich is the name of Porter's kennel it's a strip of land in Duxbury, Mass. and means long neck in Native American), has a number of strengths. "Conformation-wise she is elegant," she said. "Her color is different than the others. A lot of judges like the lighter color, she happens to be the darker, which I like the darker with the blonde feathering. She's got nice bone, decent bone, nice head, beautiful conformation structurally. She moves like a dream."This was one of Porter's top wins. "I've taken a Best in Show with a Dachshund. That was pretty big," she said. "But a National with a bred-by dog is special. We just thought if we can make a cut, or if we can make a placement at a National, we'd be thrilled. I'd have been happy going home saying she took a fourth (in American-Bred).""I can't believe I saw this and I know Ella," Dorothy Lindblade said. "It's very special."Ella is proof that good things can come in small packages. She was the smallest in a litter of 15 puppies."The only reason she is here is because she was (premature at birth)," Porter said. "She was six ounces at birth. Every two hours it was feeding her and making sure she was nursing. When she was four weeks old, she was still the tiny one. I had no intention of keeping from this litter. When everyone started going home I said I cannot sell her until she catches up in size. I decided she had to stay here until she was six months or a year old and nothing was wrong. She just grew on me right away. While we were whelping the litter I'd watch television to keep awake; we were feeding ever two hours. 'Ella Enchanted' (a movie) was on, and she was the last puppy and she wasn't doing well, but she started yapping. I said, 'We'll just call you Ella because you're enchanted.'"