Look for a Chewbacca-esque Lake Stevens dog at Westminster

LAKE STEVENS — Her nickname is Hayley, short for Hay Look Me Over.

You can look her over Saturday as she struts her stuff at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

The coiffured 2-year-old is among the 10 Biewer terriers competing to be top dog.

Biewer (pronounced “beaver”) is a new class this year. The tri-colored German breed is playful and peppy with a signature ponytail and a face like a sweet princess version of Chewbacca.

Hayley’s owner won’t be so happy-go-lucky during the meet.

“I’ll be outside the ring, being a nervous spectator,” said Lynn McKee, a longtime Lake Stevens breeder and groomer who started specializing in Biewers five years ago. She has been to the Westminster show before with other breeds.

The winning Biewer terrier advances to the toy group round, which includes Chihuahua, Pekingese, Maltese and other minis. The toy winner will compete for Best in Show on Sunday.

The show will air on Fox TV and stream at www.westminsterkennelclub.org.

The event usually takes place in February in Manhattan but due to COVID-19 restrictions was moved later in the year to an open-air format in Tarrytown, New York. Other new breeds in the show this year are Barbet, Belgian Laekenois and Dogo Argentino.

The 10 Biewer terriers in the show include a male from Enumclaw.

The long-haired breed, recognized by the American Kennel Club in January 2021, is rare but gaining popularity, said Llyle Morgan, an Olympia publicity agent for the two Washington terriers.

Biewers don’t shed, she said.

”If you start young they think of brushing as a special time,” Morgan said. “If not keeping them as show dogs you can give them what we call a puppy cut.”

Hayley weighs about 5 pounds, maybe more soaking wet.

She has hair down to her knees, but a lighter coat due to motherhood eight months ago when she got a mommy ’do. She had two pups, a boy and a girl. Her son, Lynn’s Justin Biever, is following his mom’s footsteps in show biz and will soon start competing. Her daughter is an ordinary lap dog.

Hayley was named Hay Look Me Over for her stature. Her body length and legs are equal.

“The standard calls for longer than tall. She’s square,” McKee said. “Square is acceptable, but there weren’t many square dogs out there. I wanted to make a little statement.”

Don’t be fooled by the terrier’s winsome smile.

“She’s a mischief maker,” McKee said. “She gets up in the morning and she just goes-goes-goes.”

She digs attention.

“She loves to show,” McKee said.

Hayley spent the last 30 days living with her trainer, Molly Speckhardt. “Her partner in crime,” McKee said.

After the show, McKee and princess Chewbacca will resume being roommates.

“She’s one of my bed partners,” McKee said.

Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.