Despite the raw meat and drool, Rolex is one to watch
T.J. SIMERS
The 3-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux is waiting his turn to compete in the Westminster Dog Show.
From New York — Caught a glimpse of Patty Hearst at the Westminster Dog Show but didn't know exactly what to say.
"So how's your dog? Oh, and did you ever think 35 years ago this week after being kidnapped you'd be here one day showing a Symbionese?"
Also ran into Uno, the Best in Show last year, the stuffed-looking beagle touring ever since -- adorable and lovable as officials here insist on saying, but taken aback when someone from L.A. breaks the PR spell and asks if the hound has snapped at anyone.
"He's an alpha dog," growls the television voice of Westminster, David Frei, as though it's all right to snap, somewhere out there maybe an adorable and lovable youngster now with only nine fingers.
Lincoln, a nasty little grunt known as a Brussels griffon, is the favorite to win this year's Best in Show, so no telling how many little fingers we're going to lose in the next year.
As for the Uno love affair here, it sounds too good to be true. A-Rod admits to using performance-enhancing drugs, so who is to say we won't hear from Uno next?
Tough duty here, as you might imagine, but the response back home has been overwhelming now that Page 2 has gone to the dogs.
"You finally found a sport within his competency," writes Samuel F. Rindge. "Please have him travel the world and write on nothing but doggie shows."
Wouldn't be surprised to hear the McCourts want to sponsor such travels, only one more day here, and then it could be time to follow the Dodgers as they begin crate training. Ah, spring training.
Today, though, belongs to Rolex, the slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux, who considers roadkill an inviting snack.
"They have waiting lists for those who would like to come and pick it up," says Chelsea Conway, the beast's owner, and maybe something good can still come out of all those horses who fail to make it to the finish line at Santa Anita.
Had Westminster given it more thought, though, it might have scheduled Rolex's showing for Monday rather than today, giving him an up-close and personal visit with the PETA folks dressed in Ku Klux Klan outfits outside the Garden.
"Like the Klan . . . we like the way the AKC thinks," read the sarcastic pamphlet being passed out by the white-sheet-covered PETA folks. "At the KKK, we advocate the idea of a master race."
