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Bo Bengtson
Ojai, CA
A seasoned veteran in the world of purebred dogs, Bo Bengtson has been actively involved with show dogs
as an owner, breeder and exhibitor since 1959. His interests have primarily focused on Whippets, but his
early years yielded an interest in Greyhounds and Afghan Hounds. His career launched in Sweden, and
continued when he moved to the United States in 1980. Bo fought the odds with a very limited breeding
program, rising above with at least 30 Bohem Best in Show winners and approximately 120 champions in the
United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. He was awarded the Swedish KC Hamilton plaque for excellence
in breeding in 1982.
A celebrated writer, Bo contributed to the Swedish KC magazine in the 1960s and '70s. He also wrote a
popular pet column for daily newspapers. The globetrotting dog enthusiast moved to Australia for a
position at National Dog magazine in the late 1970s for a year prior to moving to California.
Renowned for his wisdom and eye for detail, Bo was approved to judge all Sighthound breeds by the F.C.I.
in 1976. He's currently approved to judge 32 breeds in five groups, as well as All-Breed Best in Show.
He's judged worldwide, including Crufts (twice), Westminster, the F.C.I. World Show (three times, with
a fourth in 2008); and other major shows in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, England, Scotland, France,
Germany, Holland, Italy, Austria, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico,
Brazil, Japan and China.
Since the 1960s, Bo has been regularly contributing to English Dog World. His writing also has appeared
in the AKC Gazette, Kennel Review, Dog News and Canine Chronicle, as well as publications around the
world, including in India, Japan and China.
A successful author, Bo has penned several dog books, including Dogs of the World, a popular read with
500,000 copies sold worldwide), the award-winning The Whippet (UK, 1985; US edition, 1994; and a third
revised version slated for 2008), Dogs and Dog Shows Around the World (Sweden, 1994), and the
groundbreaking, critically acclaimed Best in Show: the World of Show Dogs and Dog Shows (2007), a 656-page
volume with more than 700 illustrations.
Bo received the Dog Writers' Association of America's first Elsworth L. Howell Award in 1994, and most
recently a Maxwell Award for his article about dogs in China, published in Dogs in Review in 2007.
From 1984 to 1997, Bo served as publisher and editor at Sighthound Review, during which time he was
awarded the DWAA Best Multibreed prize in 1995. He also served as editor of The Afghan Hound Review and
Poodle Variety. In '97, Bo retired from full-time AKC judging. At this point, Bo partnered with Paul
Lepiane to found the monthly Dogs in Review, now established as the leading dog show publication in the
United States with a worldwide circulation. In 2003, the magazine was sold to BowTie Inc., with Bo
remaining as editor. In 2006, Bo became editor-at-large. He was reinstated as an AKC judge in 2004.
Bo is a member of the Ventura County Dog Fanciers Association, the American Whippet Club, and the Morris
& Essex Kennel Club.
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David Frei
New York, New York
David Frei is well-known to millions of television viewers as the longtime co-host of USA Network's
annual telecast of the popular Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Since 1990, David has co-hosted the live Westminster coverage from New York's Madison Square Garden.
In connection with that role, he has made many appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America,
The Early Show, Ellen, The View, Martha Stewart, Charlie Rose, and more. He has been director of
communications for the Westminster Kennel Club since 2003.
David also is co-host on NBC of The National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day, a telecast seen by about
20 million viewers every year since its inception in 2002.
A longtime breeder-owner-handler and judge in the world of purebred dogs, he has enjoyed much
competitive success with his Afghan Hounds and Brittanys. Ch. Stormhill's Who's Zoomin Who was
the #1 Afghan in 1989 and retired as the top-winning female in the history of the breed. David
has also exhibited his Brittanys in conformation and field trials, but is most proud that Teigh
and Belle are wonderful therapy dogs, visiting pediatric patients and their families every week.
A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy named Angel recently joined the family and is a newly-certified
therapy dog.
With Westminster, David helped to create Angel On A Leash, a charitable activity supporting a therapy
dog program at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian. Angel On A Leash has
now become an independent 501(c)(3) charity with David serving as president/CEO, and has expanded
into a number of additional facilities across the country, including the Ronald McDonald House of
New York City, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center in New York, and Providence Health Care in Portland (Oregon).
He is a member of the Sports Council of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, on the advisory
committee for Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Center for Human-Animal Interaction,
a past director of Take The Lead, a director of the Dog Writers Association of America, and past
president of the Afghan Hound Club of America.
David is the co-author, with Mike Lingenfelter, of The Angel By My Side, a critically-acclaimed best
seller about a heroic service dog, published in 2002 (www.angelbymyside.com).
David also does volunteer work with Transfiguration Church and School in New York's Chinatown, and in
2006 was honored by the Transfiguration Education Association with a special award for "his loyal
support of Transfiguration Schools and his dedication to philanthropic causes."
In 2004, he appeared in one of the final episodes of the HBO hit series, Sex And The City, playing a
dog show judge awarding a big win to Charlotte and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Previously, he held public relations positions with the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and ABC-TV
Sports in New York. A native of Oregon, he owned two very unique and popular sports bar restaurants in
Seattle, as well as his own public relations agency, before moving to New York City in 2002. His wife,
Cherilyn, is a certified Catholic chaplain and director of Spiritual Care at The Ronald McDonald House
of New York City.
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