GODSPEED JANE FORSYTH

Jane and Bob Forsyth

(photo by Dan Sayers)

AKC judge and dog show icon Jane Kamp Forsyth, Mrs. Robert S. Forsyth, passed last night.  Jane literally spent a lifetime in dogs, more than three quarters of a century.  Jane’s dedication to the sport began in childhood.  When she married Bob in 1967, she was already among the most famous handlers of her day.  Jane’ stellar handling career included a Best In Show at the 1970 Westminster Kennel Club with the Boxer, CH Arriba’s Prima Donna, making her only the fifth woman to win at The Garden.   Bob and Jane remain the only married couple to have both won a BIS at Westminster.

When she retired from handling in 1981 to begin judging she had won the Kennel Review Handler of the Year three times and the Gaines Award three times, including Woman of the Year.  Jane’s judging career has been equally impressive.  She judged Best In Show at the inaugural AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in 2001 and was scheduled to judge the 2015 Morris and Essex Kennel Club show in October.

She and her husband, Bob Forsyth, are two of the most influential dog people ever. When we began showing our Maltese forty plus years ago, Bob and Jane Forsyth were the most famous couple in dogdom, dominating every show we went to on the east coast.  Jane was not only an accomplished handler, she was a role model for every young woman that wanted to succeed.  I remember her showcased on the front of one of the leading women’s magazines of the day as one of the most successful small business women in the US.  Both Bob and Jane were very kind to us and other newbies in the sport.  I would probably not still be here in the game 47 years later if not for the consideration they showed us. 

Thank you, Jane, for all of us you leave behind.  Godspeed.