uno's half sister lives in burlington!!

(thanx to geekboy for sending the article!)

Burlington's Lucy shares famous beagle blood

February 15, 2008
Rob Faulkner
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 15, 2008)

"He's the most perfect beagle I've ever seen," judge J. Donald Jones gushed about Uno, top dog at the world's top dog show this week.

And with that, the 132-year-old Westminster Kennel Club handed a first-ever win to a breed known for its nose, not its dainty demeanour.

Talk shows booked Uno. Restaurants welcomed him.

Life's different for Uno's younger half sister. Lucy lives half a world away, in an artsy Burlington home.

Lucy used to jog with owner Gene Quondamatteo but she'd stop and sniff too often. She chews Lego if kids Julianna, 5, J.J., 8, and Olivia, 10, leave it out.

Lucy runs away if she catches a scent, won't always do the leave-the-treat-there trick, and won't bay to music as beagles do on TV.

As Uno eats lunch at the famed Times Square restaurant Sardi's, Lucy's been known to eat, well, from the garbage can.

"The kids are going crazy, saying, 'Our dog is famous, our dog is famous,'" smiles mom Lisa Quondamatteo, who began searching a couple years ago for a family pet.

They met Ayton, Ont., breeder Tracy Cartwright near Walkerton. They paid $700 for a 14-week-old pup and brought home a dog whose dad won a show or two, they heard.

Little did they know, until this week, that Lucy (formally, Trajam A Mighty Wind) was sired by famed show dog Parker (Windkist A Walk in the Park), who also sired famed Uno (Ch. K-Run's Park Me in First.)

Lucy's owners are not dog show people, just pet owners who named her after the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Much has been made of Uno's win: the unprecedented crowd reactions, the victory for the underdog beagle breed, the adulation.

Gene feels he got a bargain.

"I should put her on eBay now."

And yes, Lucy, he's just joking.

rfaulkner@thespec.com
905-526-2468