<p><em>Photos courtesy Shibaguyz Photography and Jerry and Lois Photography</em><code><br /></code><br /> <em>By Ranny Green</em><code><br /></code></p> <p>It’s been said that the riskiest sports-management business is operating a ski resort and being dependent on the weatherman to deliver enough snow year after year to attract snowboarders and downhill skiers. You might want to add any dog club in the country willing to conduct a show </p>

<p><em>Photos courtesy Deborah Ferguson Jones, Bethany Urban, Steve Surfman, Lisa Croft Elliott and Jack Grassa</em><code><br /></code><br /> <em>By Ranny Green</em><code><br /></code><br /> Teamwork, trust and temperament all intersected with a Seattle connection in the celebrated Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show best-in-show ring Feb. 11 at Madison Square Garden. Less than two weeks after the Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl</p>

<p> <em>Best in show photos by Meg Callea</em></p> <p><em>By Ranny Green</em><code><br /></code><br /> A stirring “unexpected” home-town win Sunday by a 2-year-old Lhasa Apso and its tearful breeder-owner-handler contrasted sharply by a Saturday triumph of a 15-inch beagle over a final of six others seeking their first best-in-show ribbon highlighted the Seattle Kennel Club’s 136th and 137th all-breed shows last weekend at CenturyLink Field Event Center. </p>

<p><em>By Ranny Green</em><br /> <code><br /></code></p> <p>What do you associate most with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show? Chances are it’s the Select Seven final and the dog that walks away with the title of America’s Dog for the next year.</p>

<p><em>Text and photos by Jason Mullett-Bowlsby</em><br /> <br /> My plane touched down at JFK at 5:09 p.m. I can say this with certainty because I sent two texts home moments after landing: “I can’t believe I’m doing this” and “Really… I’m in NYC shooting at Westminster.”</p>

<p><em>Photos by shibaguyz</p> <p>By Ranny Green</em> </p> <p>Sometimes life’s best and most memorable moments are the totally unexpected surprises.</p> <p>For Lori Sage, of Oregon City, Ore., that was the case several months ago when she received a message on her cell phone from Paul Campanella, Westminster Kennel Club director of agility, inviting her to be&#8230;&#8230;.</p>

<p> <em>By Ranny Green </em></p> <p>They’re all black and white but their work assignments are far from that simplistic. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s six Karelian Bear Dogs – recognized as national treasures in their homeland (Finland) – and their two-legged partners respond to everything from the public’s bear and cougar sightings to finding illegally harvested wildlife kills.</p>

<p>By Ranny Green</p> <p>Here we go again: That annual dilemma of what to get that friend or relative with everything. A gift card or a check is an easy out, but if that special person is 8 or 80 and a pet lover, we have eight great options for you, ranging from celebratory to scholastic with a stunning mix of prose and photos.</p>

<p>Photos by Kate and Matt Herz and Eugene Pavlov By Ranny Green Going to battle with canine cancer can be&#8230;</p>

<p>Photos by shibaguyz, Katie Campbell and George Woodard By Ranny Green We all know how winter can be in Seattle:&#8230;</p>

<p><em>Photos by Zak Depiero and Lauren Friedman</p> <p>By Ranny Green</em></p> <p>How can you pull a positive legacy out of a horrendous tragedy that took 26 innocent lives? In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings last December in Newtown, Conn., professionals’ eyes were opened as to the role of therapy dogs in aiding children and first responders in the hours and months following the carnage.</p>

<p><em>Photography by Zak DePiero and William Gordon</p> <p>By Ranny Green</em></p> <p>“I looked into their eyes and they recognized my pain,” said a teary-eyed Reed Intermediate School sixth-grader describing the grief-counseling role played by therapy dogs after the Dec. 14 shooting massacre that took 26 lives at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School in idyllic Newtown, Conn.</p>

<p><em><br /> Photos by Jerry and Lois Photography</p> <p>By Ranny Green</em></p> <p>Mention the word Tigger and most people’s thoughts turn to the fictional tiger character originally introduced in A.A. Milne’s book “The House of Pooh Corner.” Disney Studios took the orange-and-black-striped character’s a big step further in film, maintaining his bounce and swagger. </p> <p>The agility dog world’s namesake has a roar of its own when it comes to winning and dramatics.</p>

<p><em>Photos courtesy shibaguyz</em><br /> <em>By Ranny Green </em> <br /> For 16 months, Lucy, a 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, battled one ailment after another under the care of Dr. Kelly McCord, at Summit Veterinary Referral Center in Tacoma&#8230;</p>

<p>Photos courtesy Mary Bloom, John Ashbey, shibaguyz and Randy Roberts By Ranny Green When Michael Dougherty walked out to his&#8230;</p>

<p>Photos courtesy of shibaguyz, Jenny Bowles and Jerry and Lois Photography By Ranny Green Each has a distinctive name, appearance&#8230;</p>

<p>By Ranny Green As Newtown, Conn., emerged as a national symbol of grief following the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary&#8230;</p>

<p>By Ranny Green It’s hard to imagine the pride going through a beaming Cheryl Brown’s mind Jan. 13 when working-group&#8230;</p>

<p>Photos courtesy of Jerry and Lois Photography By Ranny Green She began thrashing around in her crate about 4 a.m&#8230;.</p>

<p>By Ranny Green For years, Dr. Sandy Willis, a veterinary internal medicine consultant at Phoenix Central Lab., Inc., in Mukilteo,&#8230;</p>