VIRAL: Bethenny Frankel’s Confession About the Rescue Dog Who Softened Her Hard Edges

Bethenny Frankel opens up about the shelter pups that became her realest therapy.

Authored by Darcy Matheson, CPDT-KA

Last reviewed and updated: August 15, 2019

Her first dog, Linda, arrived during a turbulent stretch and became an anchor. Frankel has described how a wagging tail at the door could dissolve a day of boardroom tension faster than any meeting ever could.

Then came Prada. Frankel crossed paths with the dog on a Houston Street afternoon in the East Village, and something clicked. The pup had the kind of presence that stops a Type-A founder in her tracks.

She brought Prada home in 2008, and the addition completed the little pack. Frankel credits both dogs with teaching her to slow down, to laugh, and to remember what actually matters when the cameras stop rolling.

Her ask to fans is uncomplicated: open your home to a rescue. The dogs, she insists, won’t just change your life—they’ll quietly save it, one sloppy kiss at a time.

“It’s a total package deal. We’re a team. You want your dog looking sharp, and you want to look sharp too,” says a veteran handler.

That’s no rookie sentiment. Breeder-owner-handler Shawny Cirincione, with an astonishing 25 Westminster appearances, picks outfits that make her dog pop in the ring.

With her crisp-coated Scottish Deerhound, Violet (official name GCHG. Hobarra’s I Dreamed A Dream), she leans toward blues and greens—sometimes cream.

“No reds, it doesn’t look good behind her,” Shawny says, admitting she’s very superstitious. So this time she’ll wear a royal blue St. John suit—the one she had on for her last win.

“If I win a big prize in a suit at a dog show, I have to wear that same suit to the next show. No exceptions,” laughs a seasoned competitor.

Westminster: The Crown Jewel of Dog Shows

Celebrating its 143rd year, the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the global gold standard of dog exhibitions. With 203 breeds competing, it draws the crème de la crème of canines and handlers.

Thousands of handlers, trainers, and owners make their way to Manhattan for a week of events, the dog show the jewel in the crown.

For handlers, the road to Westminster starts months—even years—ahead, on the show circuit, chasing qualifying rankings and titles needed to enter.

On top of that come countless hours of obedience work, showing practice, and—depending on the breed—a great deal of meticulous grooming.

More than 3,000 dogs and handlers enter Westminster’s events each year, the centrepiece being its famed benched all-breed show at Madison Square Garden—the Super Bowl of showmanship.

Gail Miller Bisher, Westminster’s communications director, says the sport’s beauty is that people from every walk of life show their dogs, and a newcomer with a great dog has as much shot as a veteran with decades of experience.

“I think that’s why the show has survived so long,” she says. “The show is a community. Everyone is accepted. We all share one big thing: we love our dogs. I’m very proud of that.”

First-Timer vs. Seasoned Pro at Westminster

The show circuit is brand new for Barbara Fleischmann. An eight-year devotee of dog agility to burn off her terriers’ energy, Barbara only took up showing her three-year-old Kerry Blue Terrier, Dugan (official name Adare Don’t Worry Be Happy), last fall, in October 2018.

“I run around the agility ring, so I thought ‘how hard can it be?’” she says.

Her first show was the Philadelphia Dog Show, where she took a major win. Since then she’s done about 10 shows, many with strong results—Best of Breed or Best of Winners.

The owner-handler spends four nights a week in classes with Dugan: agility Monday and Thursday, obedience Tuesday, and conformation Wednesday to learn ring showing. That’s where the skills are honed—how to run with him, show off his gait, keep him on his toes, calm and quiet. Then it’s reinforced at home, with an agility course out back and plenty of conformation practice.

“It’s far easier to show a well-behaved dog—one who isn’t jumping on people or being aggressive. It’s all about building your connection with the dog,” she says.

Though the first-timer doesn’t expect to win Westminster with her young dog, she’s thrilled: “He has a lot to learn, and so do I. But I’m 59 and it’s on my bucket list to go to Westminster.”

The stakes are far higher for Shawny Cirincione, whose dog Violet is the current number-one Deerhound in the U.S. and was ranked #1 Scottish Deerhound All Breed at Westminster in 2017 and 2018. Violet’s résumé is stunning: the all-time winningest hound in AKC National Owner-Handler Series history, with dozens of titles.

And to top it off, this is Violet’s last Westminster. A win would cap the six-year-old’s remarkable career beautifully.

“It’s an indescribable feeling to have a dog like this,” she says. “You walk into breed competition with the best of the best. When your dog wins Best in Show at Westminster, you know you’ve arrived.”

Westminster: A Spectacle Like No Other

Set in the country’s busiest metropolis, Westminster is unlike any other American dog show. Most competitions sprawl across outdoor fairgrounds or convention centres; Westminster is a spectacle right in the heart of Manhattan.

Between the dog, suitcases, crates, and grooming gear, it’s hard work. You have to embrace the chaos, says Gail Miller Bisher.

“It can be a little alarming for these dogs—the traffic, the noise. We tell people to enjoy it. It’s the kind of thing that, once you’ve done it, you’re so thrilled and wish you could relive it all,” she says.

For Shawny, showing at Westminster is a lifelong dream, one she pictured even as a little girl.

But even after decades of appearances, stepping onto the green carpet still rattles her. Even as a junior handler she arrived early to walk the carpet and calm her nerves.

“It’s excitement, nerves, and a little fear,” she says. “But once you’re in the ring, it’s just you and your dog. You take a deep breath and go to work.”

Battling nerves isn’t only a handler thing. Barbara chews gum or sucks Life Savers so Dugan can’t smell her nerves.

She believes nerves travel right down the leash to the dog, so staying calm matters—and she’ll play ball with Dugan backstage to keep him relaxed.

Barbara says she’d be “ecstatic” to win, but mostly looks forward to sharing the ring with the world’s top dogs and handlers. “Even if we don’t win, we’ll do our best and try again next year,” she says. “People don’t realize the work that goes into this.”

Shawny agrees. At Westminster, Violet is “all business” and a “total diva.” But after each show she gets a McDonald’s ice cream cone before going home to two pups, her brother Buck, and seven Wirehaired Dachshunds. At home, “she’s a wild woman outside and a couch potato inside. Like a big gray pillow,” Shawny laughs.

Win or lose, Shawny says her dog is always a winner and she loves her regardless.

“At the end of the day you know in your heart you’re going home with the best dog—the one you want to spend your life with and give your heart to.”