Youngest In Show

Letesha Girth, a 12-year-old dog handler, proves she can hold her own in a ring of adults.

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If Trouble maintains his rank in the top 25 pomeranians, he and Letesha Girth qualify for the Eukanuba National Championships.

At age 12, most kids are focused on kid things, such as making it to the bus stop on time, wondering how Hannah Montana is going to keep her identity a secret, playing computer games and getting through middle school. But Letesha Girth is not your average 12-year-old, and she doesn’t think in terms of her age. Letesha thinks more in terms of the adult world, because that’s exactly where she spends most of her weekends. A dog handler from the age of 7,

Letesha doesn’t mind that she’s most frequently the only kid in the ring. She has Trouble, the No. 14 Pomeranian in the all breed system, and the No. 13 ranked Pomeranian in the breed system. Trouble has now won 14 best of breeds and 10 group placements as of the end of September. “[Letesha is] just a really neat kid, and she’s really been doing some big winning,” says Beverley Bumm, member of Ozarks Kennel Club since 1981 and former OKC secretary. “She had a list of group wins at the last meeting that was impressive. She’s been beating some specials—they are dogs that have already won championships.”

As long as Trouble stays ranked in the top 25 in his breed, he and Letesha will qualify for the December Eukanuba National Championship in Long Beach, California. Locally, Letesha and Trouble will compete November 10 and 11 at the Ozarks Kennel Club Dog Show in Springfield. Last year’s show feature almost 1,200 dogs.

In the type of shows that Letesha participates, there are two levels: the juniors’ competition and confirmation. The biggest difference aside from the average age of the handlers is the way in which they are judged. The junior competition, which is strictly for youth, analyzes the handler—how he or she walks, leads the dog, gets the dog to respond and so on. Confirmation is more about the quality of the dog—the head piece, head shape, ear set, length of back—and Letesha thinks that’s where the focus should be.

It’s with that thinking that she gets right in there with the grown-ups and competes.

“Being a child is more of a disadvantage for her,” says Sandy, Letesha’s mother. “There are handlers who think the ring isn’t a child’s place. She’s as good as a lot of the professionals that are paid to show these dogs.”

Letesha is perhaps more shy than would be expected from from a girl that is in the spot light about two weekends a month—the family travels to shows frequently within Missouri and its surrounding states and occasionally farther to specialty shows. Soft spoken, skinny and freckled, she seems to be a typical 12-year-old. She just has a pretty elaborate and time-consuming hobby. She’s shown many breeds of dog, and likes just as many, including golden retrievers, labs, Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzus and beagles.

Letesha began attending dog shows early on with her mom. Sandy started showing huskies in 1994 and eventually switched primarily to Pomeranians, which she now breeds at their home just outside of Rogersville. It was at a show in August 2003 that Letesha said she wanted to lead the dog in the ring. Mom said yes, and it all began. Letesha had taken handling classes that past June and went on to join the Ozarks Kennel Club later on.