Ballito's top dog

“A lion and a marmoset fell in love. But the lion was too large. The lion went to the Buddha and told him of his woes. The Buddha allowed the lion to shrink to the size of the marmoset and the pekingese was the result.” Like true royalty a Ballito pekingese named Kinko has been named South Africa’s dog of the year. For centuries, this unusual breed (also called a ‘Lion Dog’) could be owned only by members of the Chinese Imperial Palace and the ‘Lion and Marmoset’ was one of the legend’s of their origin. Now this very special purebred, Kinko is the only dog in SA that has been invited to the Eukanuba World Challenge “Best of the Best” competition to be held at the Amsterdam Winner Show on December 13 and 14 in the Netherlands. Kinko is a champion pekingese that was imported from Sunrise Dragon Kennel in Moscow, Russia to compliment existing breeding lines at Noblecourt. Kinko’s full name is Sunrise Dragon Sunny Sky of Noblecourt and he is the Kennel Association of South Africa (KASA) national dog 2014. Kinko competes in the toy category and this honour was bestowed upon him in Cape Town in May where he came out the top dog among all seven competing breed categories including gundogs, herding dogs, hounds, terriers, toy dogs, utility dogs and working dogs. The annual Eukanuba World Challenge brings together the top winning canines from around the world and celebrates the magnificence of pure breed dogs. “At the World Challenge all the different breeds compete in a single category for the title of Eukanuba World Challenge Champion,” explained Kinko’s co-owner Ann Robinson. Noblecourt owners Ann Robinson and Joy Tyrrell said since the three and a half year-old Kinko’s success in May, they have been inundated with export enquiries from all over the world. “We have exported pure breed pekingeses to Germany and Switzerland before but now we are receiving enquiries from everywhere,” said Robinson. The competition is only a month away and fans can follow his journey on Facebook.

Souce: North Coast Courier - www.northcoastcourier.co.za