Elford met Ralsky on the dog show circuit a few years back, when, the alphabet being what it is, her Samoyed was positioned in the ring in front of his Siberian husky.

Unnerved by her dog’s dazzling whiteness, Ralsky joked that he had a can of black paint in the car, and he was going to use it,Elford said.

From that inauspicious beginning, a friendship was born, and later the three humans agreed to share the ownership and cost of Striker. Although they might get some money for breeding Striker, it has been mostly a money-losing proposition.

It’s like having a kid that plays hockey or gymnastics or some other elite sport, Ralsky said. We’d be flying here or flying there and getting up at God knows what time.

The money is the same, and so is the stress — the emotional”A Samoyed named Striker, who almost won the top spot at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in consecutive years, is now retired and living a happy life.

Despite not winning, Striker is still a champion and remains busy playing, posing, and shedding. His breeders and co-owners say that he is an unusually chill dog who wakes up happy and is always up for any activity.

Striker shares his home with a Siberian husky named Awesome, who is also a bit of a handful. Although Striker never won the top spot at Westminster, he did win Best in Show at the American Kennel Club in 2021.

His owners say that Striker is always seeking attention and believes he should be the center of attention. However, Striker does not care that he did not win best in show at Westminster. His owners describe him as a natural ham who is always posing for the camera and seeking attention from anyone around him.

Elford, who raised Striker (full name: Ch. Vanderbilt ’N Printemp’s Lucky Strike) from puppyhood, always knew there was something special about him. It wasn’t just that he conforms to the breed standard, with his wedge-shaped head, almond eyes, powerful build and double-textured coat; it was the addition of a certain ineffable quality.

He gets a bath every other week, a serious, multiple-hour undertaking that requires a dizzying concoction of products and “a mega-force hot air dryer,” his owners say. To protect his coat from bad weather, they make him wear a raincoat.

He gets two gummy bears as an evening snack and spends the night on and off his owners’ bed, pawing at them for attention.

He may be the most successful Samoyed in dog show history, Ralsky said, “but at the end of the day, he sleeps with us.”