Clinton Hill Resident To Judge Westminster Dog Show: Report

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — Brooklynites can expect to see one of their neighbors on this year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, set to air Feb. 11 and 12.

Donald Sturz Jr., of Clinton Hill, will join the show's panel of judges for the ninth time, the Brooklyn Paper reports. Sturz, who works as a schools superintendent in Long Island, has been approved to judge the Sporting and Hound groups, the Junior Showmanship category and Best In Show.

“When you have the top dogs all over the country and the world competing, it’s not an easy task,” Sturz told the Paper. “It comes down to details.“Each breed has a standard that establishes the different qualities you’re looking for and it gets into minute levels.”

The judge has been involved in dog competitions since he was 8 years 0ld and first entered the Westminster show in the 1972 show's junior category at 10 years old. He would later rank as the country's number one junior handler in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

"He has continued to exhibit actively in conformation events and has bred, owned and handled all-breed and specialty Best in Show winners in a number of breeds," the Westminster website writes.

Sturz started judging in 1990 and has since judged international dog shows and has been assigned to Westminster eight times.

He has lived in Brooklyn with his French bulldog, Emmett, since 2015, the Paper reports.

The all-breed show of the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 11 and will end at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12. It will be held at Madison Square Garden.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.