Today's Breeder - Issue 107 - 30

SUNLIT AFGHAN HOUND NAMED 'LOUIS' GOES TO TOP AS NO. 1 HOUND
With a regal air befitting the king of dogs,
" Louis, " a 4-year-old black male Afghan
Hound, has become the No. 1 Hound and
No. 5 all-breed dog in the country. MBIS/
MBISS GCHG Sunlit's King of Queens
began 2022 winning Reserve Bests in Show
in January at the Kennel Club of Palm
Springs on Saturday and Sunday, besting
3,857 and 3,711 dogs, respectively, followed
by winning Bests in Show two weeks later
at three of four shows at the Dog Fanciers
Association of Oregon and Tualatin Kennel
Club cluster, topping entries of 1,508, 1,657
and 1,481 dogs.
Representing the third generation and
highest achiever of the Sunlit Afghan Hound
bloodline of breeder-owner Tara M. Richardson,
of Cameron, Missouri, Louis is a consummate
show dog. " Louis walks into the ring and
then stops and stares to make sure everyone
is watching him, " says Richardson, who
handled him at 15 months old to his win at the
31st Annual Afghan Hound Club of America
Breeders' Cup out of 60 litter-nominated
hounds competing. " Louis has a beautiful
outline that he holds moving and standing.
He moves effortlessly, using every inch of
himself. "
After the Breeders' Cup win, Louis took a
hiatus from showing to mature. Richardson
handled him to his championship in four
shows in 2020 at 2 ½ years of age. The pair
then promptly won Best in Specialty Show
at the Heartland Afghan Hound Club of
Greater Kansas City and a Hound Group
First at the Capital City Cluster in Topeka,
Kansas, and then Richardson handed Louis
to pro handler Alicia Morrison-Jones of
Seaside, Oregon, in October 2020 to continue
his Specials campaign, finishing the year
as the No. 1 Afghan Hound in the breed
despite limited showing.
Louis has taken Richardson full circle
since she became fond of Afghan Hounds
20 years ago as a junior handler watching
Morrison-Jones campaign the famous
black male, BIS/BISS CH Fabelhaft Zoot Suit, whose
outline and breed type she has tried to emulate in her
breeding program. " Louis resembles 'Corbu,' " she says.
A highlight for Richardson was Louis' Best of Breed
A consummate show dog, " Louis " was sired by the top specialty-winning Afghan
Hound of all time. In his litter of five, all have won Specialty Bests in Show or Hound
Group Firsts.
at the 2021 Westminster Kennel Club handled by Morrison-Jones,
while Richardson handled his dam, MBIS/
MBISS GCHG Sunlit's Queen Of Everything CGC, to
Select Bitch. " Araina, " the dam, was whelped by a Swedish
champion, GCH Kingsleah Fire Queen, whom Richardson
30 | ISSUE 107
brought to the U.S. from the world-renowned Kingsleah
Kennels of Sweden. Louis' sire is the top specialty-winning
Afghan Hound of all time, GCHP Agha Djari's Fifth Dimension
Of Sura, a German-bred blue brindle male.
Louis is co-owned by Morrison-Jones, Pam Winklemeier
of St. Louis, Jamie Souza of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and
Michelle Hunter of Springfield, Missouri. The all-systems
top Afghan Hound is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance
30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.
PHOTO: RHONDA CASSIDY
https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dry-dog-food/sport-performance-30-20-high-protein https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/dry-dog-food/sport-performance-30-20-high-protein
Today's Breeder - Issue 107

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