Poodle, Chihuahua and Yorkie— these are some of the dog breeds that participated in the 42 Annual Kid’s Dog Show at Berkshire, organized by the Berkshire Youth Association (BYA).

“They are a partnership of the Oakland County Circuit Court—Family Division; the City of Birmingham; the Villages of Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin; Birmingham Public Schools; and community volunteers. They have been serving youth and families since 1962,” said Meg Sullivan Lope, a very important member of the association. They have been organizing events that make our community thrive and prosper.

The BYA has an important mission statement. 

“Strengthen youth and families to reduce the incidence of delinquency, abuse and neglect through community involvement,” Lope said. They do that in multiple ways: counseling, organizing events and offering kids opportunities to grow.

One such event is their annual dog show.                   

“It is all about bringing the community together and giving families a fun way to connect. The Dog Show is a perfect example— when families spend quality time together and stay involved, it helps create a positive, supportive environment and can help prevent problem situations,” Lope said. The dog show proved to inspire many happy faces in families ready to have fun and compete against other talented people. Kids of all ages volunteered, wanting to make a difference and give back— whether it was by giving out popcorn or even cleaning up after.

On Jan. 2, 2025, the 35 canine contestants looked adorable and reacted incredibly fast to several different tasks.

Erin Payton was a key organizer. She put in an enormous amount of work to make the event happen; finding the time, date, places and participants and planning every single little detail.

“[The dogs were scored on] waggiest tail, best costume, best looking, musical chair and best trick,” Payton said. The judges had to make extremely hard decisions; all the contestants were incredible. Some kids wore matching outfits with their dogs, others were able to have their dogs sit in less than 2 seconds and other pets were extremely well-groomed.

The overall winner was Sarah Fearon. She and her dog not only won the overall competition, but they also won the “best tricks” section as well. They had many impressive and breathtaking fun tricks prepared, including jumping into a hoop and jumping on top of Sarah! 

“We practiced a lot last year and then came in this year and did what she knows best,” Fearon said. So, now you know the key to success: practice, practice practice and….. more practice.

If you’re upset about missing this awesome event, don’t worry! There are plenty more BYA events, including Youth In Service, happening in March, where you can witness another program that aims to…

“Recognize significant community service led by local middle and high school students,” Lope says. Participating in these events can help you learn more about others, get service hours, impact your community and have fun!