When the stunning German shorthaired pointer she handled won best in show this week from the Westminster Kennel Club, Michelle Ostermiller became a superstar too.
It’s hard to see it any other way after Ostermiller put a dog through championship paces at Westminster for the second year in a row, something that hasn’t happened in more than 30 years.
A quiet, second-generation “dog person” from a small Pennsylvania town, Ostermiller is now one of only 14 handlers who have been multiple winners in Westminster’s 129-year history. Five of those handlers won top honors with the same dog; Ostermiller is not among them. Her back-to-back best in shows are the Newfoundland called Josh and this year’s winner, Carlee.
“It’s a thrill,” said Ostermiller, “but it’s tiring.”
The handler accompanies the dog in the ring and helps the animal show off its best points — posing the dog for inspection, sprinting along with it as it takes a few laps under the judge’s gaze, and subtly eliciting all the sparkle and personality possible.
Handling the best in show winner also means handling a media frenzy. Less than four hours after capturing this year’s title, Ostermiller and her 5-year-old German shorthaired pointer companion started their New York media sprint. It included: “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” MSNBC, CNN, several radio interviews and a Top 10 List appearance on “David Letterman” (Ostermiller’s second visit; she accompanied Josh on the show last year).
Lunch? Sardi’s, where Carlee, whose official name is Ch Kan-Point’s VJK Autumn Roses, got ground beef in a special bowl. “She likes all the cheering and the attention,” Ostermiller said. “She’s really into that.”
“Michelle is someone new to a lot of people, because she’s only in her 20s, but she’s earned the accolades,” said David Frei, a Westminster Kennel Club spokesman who did color commentary during the nationally televised broadcast. “She’s been around dogs all her life. She earned this. They were perfect.”
“Obviously the dog has to perform, and that’s important,” he said. “But Michelle faced different challenges each time. Josh, as a Newfound-land, was more laid-back and it took some prodding in the right places. Carlee has much more energy . . . this meant [Ostermiller] had to keep her under control and hold her back at times.”
One of the early, good omens for Ostermiller, who says she’s superstitious, was not having to wear the No. 13 armband — something she tries to avoid. But the best break she got may have happened a year ago. That’s when big Josh, in a rare burst of energy, knocked over his owner, David Helming, who had planned to handle him at Westminster. But Helming hurt his knee when he took the tumble and turned to Ostermiller, who also had been working with the dog.
“The rest is history,” Frei said.
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