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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Shiba Inu makes best-of-show round

From Staff And Wire Reports

Mr. Jones, the world-renowned Shiba Inu dog from Stevens County, recently made history in becoming the first of his breed to ever compete for the best of show at the FCI World Dog Show this month in Helsinki, Finland.

The 25-pound Japanese hunting dog, registered as GCH. Dragon House Mr. Jones, beat out 125 other Shiba Inus to win best of breed, then went on to win against about 20 other breeds in the Spitz and primitive types category, which gave him the ability to compete against nine other dogs in the prestigious best of show.

“No Shiba on this planet has ever placed group one and competed in best of show,” said owner Sandi Smith, who returned Thursday to Valley with Mr. Jones. “We broke a record so big and so hard we still can’t digest it.”

An affenpinscher named Tricky Ricky From Yarrow-Hi Tech won the top honors.

In February, Mr. Jones won best of breed at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City, a title he also won in 2010.

“It just wowed the Shiba community and the world,” Smith said about the Helsinki win.

Two on wheelchair killed by Oregon light rail

GRESHAM, Ore. – A light-rail train in Gresham struck and killed two people, one of whom was in a wheelchair, authorities said.

A person in a motorized mobility device exited the train with a companion at the Gresham City Hall station, the TriMet transportation agency said. The companion jumped on the lap of the person in the wheelchair and hit the controls, propelling both of them into the gap between two train cars just as the train was leaving the station, officials said.

The blue line train was moving at the time the two fell into the right of way, TriMet spokeswoman Angela Murphy told the Oregonian.

“They think he hopped into her lap, pushing it forward into the path” of the train, Murphy said.

The platform has a 3-foot drop into the tracks.

The train operator did not see the incident and was not aware until a short time later, TriMet said.

“This is an extremely traumatic event for an operator,” Murphy told the newspaper.

One person died at the scene, and the other died at a local hospital.

The victims were a 66-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man, the Oregonian reported.