Uncommon breeds at dog show

EVERY dog breed has its day at the Westminster Kennel show. That day can start by facing off against dozens of dogs — or no others at all.

Outside the ring where as many as 48 French bulldogs vied this week to be best of their breed, Peter and Tracy Rousseau kept a sense of perspective about the field their Norwegian lundehund would face later in the day.

A member of the rarest breed in the American Kennel Club’s rankings, Eva was one of only two lundehunds at the nation’s most prestigious dog show. Last year, she was the only one.

“We’re trying to get people to understand this breed and have an opportunity to see” a small dog that is truly a breed apart, Tracy Rousseau said.

Originally bred to hunt cliff-dwelling puffins, lundehunds have extra toes and extraordinary flexibility to help them climb.

“They’re very unique,” so much so that fanciers strive to make sure people realize the unusual feet aren’t a deformity, Rousseau said.

To the Rousseaus, it’s worth traveling from Franktown, Colorado, to New York just to get attention for lundehunds at Westminster, where...