Gala Dinner Best Russian Dog 2018 Post-release
On February 4, 2019, the Four Seasons Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall hosted the second award ceremony for the Best Russian Dog-2018 ranking winners and the best representatives of cynology in Russia.
The Best Russian Dog gala dinner is an event that celebrates the achievements of Russian breeders, handlers, veterinarians, rescuers, guide dogs, volunteers and dog shelters. The main objectives of the event are to reward participants for their tremendous work and unite the canine community, to spread a culture of mutual respect and professional ethics among its members.
Two years ago, appearance of the ranking aroused genuine interest among the participants, and the first gala dinner in 2018 was a pleasant surprise for the winners and guests of the ceremony. There were no similar events before in Russian cynological society. Even then, it was supported by the Russian Small Animal Veterinary Association, the Cynological Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the resource center Mosvolonter, the center Guide Dogs for the Disabled and Pet-Continent, the distributor of the grain-free pet food Wellness CORE. The main media partner of the gala dinner was HOTdog Magazine International.
This year, the list of the partners has expanded. Thanks to the work of the Best Russian Dog project in the social direction, the Russian shelters association We Are Together, fund I Am Free and the pet therapy center Chronos joined the gala dinner. Publishing center Zooinform, pet magazine Drug (“Friend”), TV channel Domashnie Zhivotnye (“Pets”) and DogWinner educational community became information partners. The attitude to the event among the participants has also changed. The significance of the project in the world of cynology became apparent. Numerous thanks were devoted to the creator of the Best Russian Dog Nicolas Pineiro and the organizers of the gala dinner.
By tradition, the award ceremony consisted of three blocks. An innovation of the ceremony was video profiles presentation on all nominees’ achievements. The first block was dedicated to the 10 winners of the FCI groups in 2018. On the red carpet were the champions of the International CACIB dog shows, accompanied by their handlers, breeders and owners. The presenters of this part of the ceremony were Svetlana Goreva, the beauty contests winner and the Samoyed Russian Breed Club vice president, and Evgeny Kuplyauskas, FCI and RKF (Russian Kynological Federation) all-breed international judge.
The second block was devoted to the cynology in society. Famous Russian singer and actor Alexey Vorobyov opened the social part of the ceremony by a video message. Alexey compared the gala dinner Best Russian Dog with the Oscars and noted the invaluable role of dog shelters, veterinarians, guide dogs, therapy dogs, rescue dogs and cynologists preparing them for service. The musician completed his video with an improvised song, which he dedicated to the winners.
The social block was the most heartwarming. The nominees talked about their hard work and how they came to the world of cynology. The awarding of guide dog Dzhosser and its owner Boris Vishnyakov, the head of the project “Blind Race”, was very emotional. Yuliya Kitskan, the shelters network Povodog representative and Iren Belenkaya, the founder of the Sheremetyevskiy shelter gave touching speech about homeless dogs. Ophthalmologist Alexander Konstantinovsky, the winner of the nomination Best veterinarian, noted that it is important for a veterinarian to get recognition from breeders and canine experts. The presenter of the ceremony was Dmitry Nesterov, Russian singer and Goodwill Ambassador, who supports dog shelters and serve as a volunteer.
The Best of the Best nomination completed the gala dinner. The Best Handler title got Olga Agapova, who conquered the pedestals in Russia and also took places at the podium in the European and World Dog Shows during the year. Natalia Mankova became the two-time winner in the Best Russian Dog ranking with the nomination Best Handler-Owner. Irina Meshcheryakova became Best breeder. Her dog Family Flight Fine Chanel (breed Bouvier des Flandres) received the most important ranking title – Best in Show-2018 winner.
The festive and solemn mood was created by the Trinity group, the rising stars of the operatic stage, Dmitry Galikhin, the opera singer, and Dmitry Nesterov, participant of the TV project The Voice (Russia).
The organizers of the event thank the famous Russian sculptor-animalist Marina Ostrovskaya for creating personal statuettes for the social block winners and Best in Show winner, Pet-Continent for providing Wellness CORE grain-free pet food for all winning dogs and the Mosvolonter resource center for well-coordinated volunteers work.
Congratulations to all the winners and wish them further success!
