BURKET, 2X

Gail Burket of Dover, Ohio, leads her golden retriever, Shake, through the poles during an agility course competition, one of many contests slated for the weekend event, which runs through Sunday.

A retrieval test is scheduled that day.

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Butler

WORTH TWP - The dog days of summer came early to Cooper's Lake this year.

The lake grounds were taken over this weekend by the Golden Retriever Club of America's Eastern Regional Specialty event.

The Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever Club sponsored the weekend, including a variety of events taking place through Sunday.

Members of the public could attend for free and watch agility, tracking, obedience and conformation contests for dogs of all ages. A retrieval test was scheduled for Sunday.

Special events during the weekend included a rescue parade on Friday, featuring retrievers rescued from unfortunate situations.

Ann Hubbs of the Golden Retriever Club of America health committee spoke Friday afternoon about understanding heart murmurs in the breed.

Vendors were also selling a wide variety of golden retriever items ranging from T-shirts to jewelry.Tammy Tomlinson, show chairperson, said 236 dogs were entered in the competition, though some of those entries represent the same dog in more than one event.Tomlinson, of Ligonier, owns 20 golden retrievers and has been showing her dogs for 28 years."I just started way back in 4-H (Club) and kept going," she said.She loves the breed because it's an all-purpose dog, she added."A golden retriever is good with children and the elderly and can be shown in any aspect of competition," according to Tomlinson.Bob Double of Butler judged the Puppy and Veteran Sweepstakes Thursday afternoon. The event, designed for puppies younger than 18 months or dogs older than 8 years old, was interrupted by thunderstorms but resumed later in the day.Double has been showing dogs for more than 30 years, he said. His most famous client now is the U.S. champion Weimaraner - No. 1 in its breed in the country, according to Double. Her name is Smokey City Hail Mary.As he prepared to judge the golden retriever competition Thursday, he said he enjoys working with the sporting dogs, including Weimaraners, retrievers, pointers and others."I like their mentality and their activeness," he said. "They're also great companion dogs."Jennifer Craig of Erie agreed with Double, stating that it's the golden retriever's temperament and personality that attracts her to them. She owns 13.Craig was waiting to have one of her younger dogs judged in the sweepstakes. Gunner, a 9-month-old puppy, is from one of her best stud dogs, she said. She showed him Thursday to give him experience as well as show other breeders who is "up and coming," in the breeding field, she said.Barbara Martin, advertising and publicity chairwoman for the show, said this is the first year the club has used Cooper's Lake for this event.

The Pittsburgh club has held a local show at the South Hills Kennel Club in Washington County for the past several years, but this year's regional event called for a bigger arena, she said. It's been 10 years since the club hosted a regional event, she said.The club involves 13 members from north of Pittsburgh, including the Butler area, 27 from Pittsburgh and 15 from south of the city, according to Martin of Finleyville. She has been a club member for 25 years and has nine golden retrievers of her own.For information about the Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever Club visit the Web site, www.gpgrc.org.