The Big Bark In The Garden

World War II halted Roberts' expeditions to England, and when the war was over things were not quite the same. Holgate was dead. Parkington was dead. There was, Roberts says, "a different crowd." On the night of February 22, 1951, at the conclusion of the Eastern Dog Show in Boston, he retired as a handler, dealer and kennel consultant to become a judge. He had shown his first dogs in the U.S. at the same show in 1914.

Professional judging offers small fees, but Roberts was comfortably off and judging allowed him to keep up with doggy doings. In 1951 and 1952 he was voted Judge of the Year by his peers. A judge may win the award only twice, but it is a tribute to Roberts' abilities that his name has been placed in nomination several times since.

Roberts accepts invitations to judge as they are received in the mail. On occasion he has had to reject an assignment at a prestige show because he already has agreed to work at a smaller show. "It's the little shows that make the big shows," he says. As of now, he is fully committed through 1967, and he has 12 shows booked for 1968. Roberts has judged all over the U.S. and Canada, and also in England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The one assignment that always eluded him was best-in-show at Westminster. He had judged breeds there and even a group, but the club had continued to call on amateurs to judge best-in-show.

In April of 1965 the members of the dog show committee of the Westminster Kennel Club met to decide on judges for the 1967 show. The committee agreed to invite Percy Roberts, a professional, to judge best-in-show. A few days later John W. Cross Jr., the committee chairman and an old client of Roberts, phoned him at home and asked if he might drop by. Roberts told him to come over, and after Cross arrived they chatted about other matters for a while, and then Cross said, "Percy, the Westminster Kennel Club would like to offer you the invitation to judge best-in-show in February 1967." Very moved, Roberts mumbled, "Of course, Mr. Cross, of course." There was a pause, and Cross, preparing to leave, said, "Percy, the club will be very happy to know of your acceptance." Percy Roberts pulled himself together and said softly, "This is the climax to a career."