Catasauqua Police Chief Douglas Kish and his wife Kristin, have been invited to attend the Westminster Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show in New York City Feb. 16 and 17 with their champion Great Dane, Seamus.

This is the 130th annual show and the second year Seamus has been invited.

"Last year he received a Select Dog Award," Kristin told The Press. "We wanted to get a Best in Breed, but any ribbon from Westminster is an achievement."

Since last year's Westminster show, Seamus has been active in the champion circuit.

"Getting him to the various shows helps improve his stage appearance and manners," she said. "And he needs to win shows to build up points for Westminster."

Seamus has been rated better than 1,393 other Great Danes that he competed with. Last year, he ranked the second best Great Dane in the country. He has earned a plethora of awards, including 74 Best of Breed awards, multiple specialty wins and awards of merit.

"You can enter your dog in Westminster, but only the top dogs in their breed are invited," Kristin noted.

Four years ago, the American Kennel Club set up a special award class called Platinum Championship. It is a difficult award to attain because it requires that Seamus be judged in many shows by different judges. At the moment, he is two Grand Champion points away from qualifying for the Platinum Championship Award.

"If he gets there, he will be the first male Great Dane to win the award," Doug said.

Now that the Kishes have experienced one Westminster show, they have a better feel for the logistics. As Doug explained, Westminster is a benched show.

"The dogs come in and have to stay on the premises. They are divided by breed so that the public can come in and see the best of the breeds," he said.

Seamus has the personality that seems to attract a following at these benched shows, the Kishes said. He is friendly with the audience and enjoys being the center of attention.

"He's like a rock star out there," Kristin said. "When we get off the elevator, people are asking for pictures with him."

The Westminster show has a 36-page book packed with rules to help keep the event organized.

"Following the rules is a logistics problem," Kristin said. "The agility judging is on Saturday at Piers 92 and 94 along the Westside Highway. That is where most of the judging takes place later on in the show, too. The dog's crate and bed are there. Award winners then need to gather up all their equipment and get them over to Madison Square Garden. They have buses riding around in a circle to help out, but everybody is on the move at the same time, and you can't be late to any of the events."

Westminster has scheduled events throughout the show, but tickets are available to the public.

"The dogs you will see on TV on Feb. 17 are the award winners," Kristin said. Should Seamus make it to the final round, local residents will not see Kristin or Doug presenting the dog to the judges.

"Judges in these major shows expect that Seamus has a professional handler," Doug said.

Seamus works with Barbara Waldkirch who specializes in showing Great Danes.

"When Seamus is with her, he knows that he needs to be on his best show behavior," said Kristin. "Around us he is more playful, but that sometimes hurts when I need to take him into the ring."

The Kishes are currently thinking about Seamus' future.

'We are selective breeders," Kristin said. "We don't breed unless we feel it will improve the line."

So, who knows. There might be an arranged meeting for Seamus in the near future with a particularly enchanting female champion.