Large and in charge

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LEWISTOWN - It has long been said that dog is "man's best friend."

Although it is uncertain how the relationship between the two ever evolved, this is for certain: Humans and dogs have a connection that has been lasted for many generations.

For dog lover, Dr. Christie Gisewhite, the connection she shares with her Greater Swiss Mountain dog, Large Marge, is apparent when you see the two of them in the same room.

"That's a good dog," she says, patting the giant Swissy on the head.

At first glance, Large Marge looks like your everyday, average dog. She is loveable, friendly and willing to do anything for a treat. There is however, one minor exception. She's a champion show dog and has the medal and ribbon to prove it.

And most people wouldn't realize Large Marge's medal that sits proudly displayed in Gisewhite's office is from the famed Westminster Kennel Dog Show.

That event is a two-day benched breed show that takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City every year. The first Westminster show was held in 1877.

Fresh off their recent trip from New York, N.Y., Gisewhite and her mother, Blanche Roberts, were awarded a medallion for Best of Opposite Sex during the breed judging Feb. 16 at Westminster Kennel Dog Show in New York City.

Winning "Best of Opposite," she explained, is kind of like taking second place. "The male was the best of the breed," Gisewhite said, which allowed him to qualify for Best in Show.

"(It's) chaos," Gisewhite said of the dog show. "You stay in a hotel the size of my waiting room ... the dog likes to run around in grass - there is no grass in New York."

Gisewhite, a Lewistown chiropractor, has been breeding dogs with her mother since 1982, and is part owner of SeaVaRidge's Kennel, where Bernese and Greater Swiss Mountain dogs are born and bred.

As Gisewhite explained, the idea for the kennel came about when her mother wanted to breed some sort of animal. "Ever since I was a little girl, my mom was always breeding some type of animal."

At first, she said, her mother would breed parakeets; then cats - but her father was allergic to them - so she moved on to dogs. Gisewhite said her mother called her one day and asked what type of dog she should breed. Her response? Bernese Mountain dogs.

As Gisewhite explained, Bernese and Greater Swiss Mountain dogs are a medium size breed of dog belonging to the Sennehund family.

"Swissies were bred for herding and carting ... they were the poor man's Clydesdale," Gisewhite said. "They are a farm dog ... they pull the cart to help drive the cattle and sleep with the kids at the end of the night," she said.

But none of that is evident when you meet Large Marge - she seems to fit in the office atmosphere.

The name "Large Marge" isn't just something Gisewhite pulled out of the air. She explained when Large Marge was only four days old, she was already towering at 26 ounces while the other puppies were only 15 or 16 ounces.

"Thus the name, Large Marge," she said.

And when the massive puppy was born on July 15, 2008, Gisewhite said she knew she was dealing with something special.

"(I) felt that about her from the day she was born," Gisewhite said rubbing Large Marge's face between her hands. "I knew we had something special."

Gisewhite said she started campaigning Large Marge last year in several other dog shows, and had her professionally trained at Acadia Shelties, which is small hobby kennel committed to breeding quality dogs.