The Westminster Kennel Club has selected a La Plata man as a judge for the 148th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
“I’ve always had dogs. They developed into a huge part of my life and became a major hobby for me,” Richard Todd Jackson, 54, told Southern Maryland News. “Everything kind of exploded while I was in college.”
Jackson, like many freshmen, said he hated living in dorms and moved off-campus. His parents told him he would have to pay half the rent, so he found a job as a kennel assistant.
His work at the Tsang-Po Kennels kindled his lifelong passion for chow chows, leading him to achieve over 50 championships and grand championships.
“I’ve had chow chows ever since,” Jackson said. “I left to go off to college with no dogs, and I came home with six dogs.”
As he was from Miami, he had to make special accommodations so his chow chows, which are an arctic dog, would be comfortable in the climate. He formed a makeshift kennel on his air-conditioned patio to keep his dogs cool in the long, hot Florida summers.
“I started judging my own breed, which is chow chows, and I’ve had quite a bit of success. I still show my dogs,” Jackson said. “I don’t get a chance to do it as much as I would like to because of avoiding conflicts of interest as a judge.”
Jackson said his claim to fame came from his smooth-coated chow chows, which have a rougher, shorter, more bristly coat.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show invited Jackson nearly a year and a half ago to serve on the panel, but he was sworn to secrecy until they made their announcement.
He is among 43 other judges for this year’s show, being selected out of what he estimates to be at least 2,000 others.
He is listed on the Westminster Kennel Club’s website as a toy breed judge for this year, examining affenpinschers, Biewer terriers and papillons.
“It’s an honor to be invited to judge at what is one of the most revered dog shows in the world. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is second only to the Kentucky Derby as one of the oldest sporting events in the United States,” Jackson said, reflecting on his appointment. “Being chosen to judge is a dream to which most dog show judges aspire. To do so as one of the few people of color ever to attain this role adds a profound sense of responsibility, pride, and history.”
The show will return for the second year to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, N.Y., on May 11, 13 and 14.
Beyond his contributions to the dog sport, according to a release from the Westminster Kennel Club, Jackson has been involved in real estate development and asset management, focusing on providing affordable housing to seniors and military families in the Mid-Atlantic region for over 25 years.
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