Smith: Jasper, the Rohnert Park terrier, rode a victory lap in Central Park

I regard myself a dog lover. Perhaps you do, too. But Connie Bartlett, she’s a whole other breed.

Bartlett, a Rohnert Park resident and graduate of Rancho Cotate High, is readjusting to normal life after flying Jasper, a 4-year-old border terrier, to Madison Square Garden for the Super Bowl of dog shows.

Jasper did very well at the 143rd annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show. He was named Best of Breed for his type of purebred dog, a victory that won him a nibble of steak back at the hotel and a carriage ride through Central Park.

“He loves traveling. He loves people. He loves to show,” said Bartlett, his breeder and co-owner. Jasper seemed in his element among about 3,000 other dogs and the enormous crowd of people who packed the arena in Manhattan.

If you’ve been keeping count, you know Jasper is the third dog from Sonoma County that took a Best of Breed prize at the Westminster. That seems quite remarkable to me.

The other two local BofB winners were Timaru Tallulah, an Anatolian shepherd bred by John and Lesley Brabyn of Bodega, and Bernie, a Portuguese water dog bred by Sonoma Valley’s Julie Conger.

The journey to New York started off roughly for Connie Bartlett and Jasper. They arrived at SFO at 6 a.m. and, thanks to a series of five canceled flights, didn’t head eastward until 7:30 p.m.

But all was well once they set foot in Dogtown, which is what midtown Manhattan had become in advance of the Westminster show.

Bartlett, who co-owns Jasper with Carrie and Ben Staten of Santa Rosa, said her pup had a blast meeting all the dogs and people in the hotel, on the streets and at Madison Square Garden.

For Jasper to win Best of Breed confirmed that of all the border terriers entered he came closest to being, in all aspects, ideal, Bartlett said.

Following his victory, staffers at the Host Hotel presented Jasper a bite steak. And Bartlett, who previously showed Jasper’s father and grandfathers and won at the Westminster, celebrated with a carriage ride in Central Park.

“It’s kind of a little tradition,” she said. “Jasper loved it.”

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MEDVIGY’S NEW OATH: Damp and green is the spot in the Pacific Northwest that ex-Sonoma County judge and Army general Gary Medvigy retired to, but he won’t be gathering moss.

At 62, Medvigy has set to work as the new kid on the five-person governing board of Clark County, Washington, a cross-the-state-line suburb of Portland.

A vacancy opened up on the Clark County Council and Medvigy tossed his hat into the ring. The governing council’s four seated members considered three candidates to represent what is described as the county’s most conservative district, and they chose Medvigy.

A Republican, he served as a Sonoma County prosecutor before former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the Superior Court bench in 2007. Medvigy has said in southwestern Washington that he loves its natural beauty but moved there mostly to live among “like-minded people with strong moral and core values.”

The new county councilor, who will be paid $56,800 a year, also said he’s found there are great people in Clark County, “whether Republican or not.”

You can reach columnist Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.