By late this afternoon, Jane Forsyth will be in a ring inspecting and evaluating the seven best dogs at the Western Pennsylvania Kennel Association’s dog show Downtown.

“I look for an all-around type of dog. You really have to look for what’s right with the dog, not what’s wrong,” said Forsyth, 80, of Pinehurst, N.C., who has decades of experience as a dog-handler and judge.

Forsyth has judged the Western Pennsylvania show 29 times. This year’s starts early this morning and continues Sunday at the David A. Lawrence Convention Center. Both days culminate in the Best in Show competition about 5 p.m.

She and her husband Robert are the only husband-wife team ever to handle Best In Show winners at the Westminster Kennel Club’s dog show — the country’s most prestigious. She won in 1970 with a Boxer. He won six years earlier with a Whippet.

Forsyth used to judge or participate in 70 or 80 dog shows a year worldwide but now limits herself to judging about 40, all in the United States.

“You have to slow down at some point.”

Additional Information:

Western Pennsylvania Kennel Association Dog Show

When: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Sunday

Admission: $9; $4 for age 12 and younger

Where: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown

Details: 412-372-8744 or www.wpka-inc.org

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