{"id":1318679,"date":"2020-03-11T16:59:41","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T22:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=994518"},"modified":"2020-03-11T16:59:41","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T22:59:41","slug":"newfoundlands-are-a-family-affair-for-the-listons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/newfoundlands-are-a-family-affair-for-the-listons\/","title":{"rendered":"Newfoundlands are a family affair for the Liston\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The Liston family from left, Caleb, Quinn, Megan and Finnegan are all smiles after the family pet recieved an award of merit at this years Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City.<\/strong>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Four years ago Caleb and Megan Liston welcomed Finnegan into their lives. Little did they know he would take them on the trip of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

A not so little bundle of joy, Finnegan isn\u2019t your typical 4-year-old \u2014 he is a 175-pound, nationally ranked Newfoundland.<\/p>\n

Finnegan is no ordinary dog; he is the family pet, and best friend to the Listons\u2019 daughter Quinn. <\/p>\n

Typically the Listons, who make their home in Rifle, would only show him once, maybe twice a month traveling around Colorado and the southwest.<\/p>\n

After winning Newfoundland Club of America National Specialty Dog Show in Michigan, the Listons made a trip all the way to Orlando for a show last December, where he placed second.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Finnegan is seen here competitng against other Newfoundlands at Westminster in February.<\/strong>
Finnegan-rct-031220-6<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a darn good-looking dog. Newfoundlands in general are a good-looking breed. Maybe I\u2019m biased, but Finnegan is pretty spectacular,\u201d Caleb Liston said.<\/p>\n

With a little nudging from friends, Caleb and Megan decided to enter Finnegan in the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always a thought in my head just to attend as a spectator because I\u2019m originally from New Jersey, but I never did while I lived there,\u201d said Megan Liston.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would watch it every year on TV. It would just be something I love to watch, but I never in a million years ever would think I would have a dog entered.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Listons traveled across the country in the family car, with Finnegan and their 2-1\/2-year-old daughter, Quinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty hours in the car, because a  175-pound Newfoundland doesn\u2019t do well in an airplane,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Finnegan poses with a few member sof the FDNY during the Westminster show in February.<\/strong>
Finnegan-rct-031220-8<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Finnegan, who reached a rank as high as sixth in the country, competed against 18 other Newfoundlands in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo even be there and show at Westminster is a huge honor. There are a total of only 2,500 dogs that compete,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

Finnegan placed in the top three, receiving an award of merit.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo just make it to Westminster is a huge accomplishment, and then to walk out of there with a ribbon blew our minds. It was beyond our expectations,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

The Listons said it was a fun family trip, letting their daughter experience all of it at such a young age, and Finnegan did fantastic being in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe handled the crowds, noises and walking through the streets like a pro. He did better than Caleb,\u201d Megan jokingly said of her husband, who grew up in Glenwood Springs and didn\u2019t adjust to the city as well as the family pet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really wonderful experience,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

A LOVE FOR A BREED
BRINGS THEM TOGETHER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Caleb and Megan came together almost six years ago when Caleb reached out to a Facebook group after rescuing a Newfoundland.<\/p>\n

Caleb\u2019s affection for the Newfoundland breed goes back to his youth when his parents brought home their first Newfoundland in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Megan began showing Newfoundlands 13 years ago.<\/p>\n

Caleb, a stay-at-home dad, and Megan a registered nurse at Grand River Health, have three Newfoundlands, including Finnegan, at their home in Rifle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started going to shows and watching, and thinking, hey I could do that,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Finnegan, a 4-year-old Newfoundland, recieved an award of merit at the Westminster Kennel Club in February.<\/strong>
Finnegan-rct-031220-2<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt took quite a bit of time to get a dog that was worthy of showing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caleb calls himself the show Sherpa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haul everything in, set everything up, and I\u2019m there for moral support,\u201d Caleb said.<\/p>\n

Things have changed with the birth of their daughter, Quinn, who occupies a lot of Caleb\u2019s time during shows now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love being at the shows, and obviously I love seeing Finnegan win, but I love seeing Megan doing it because it is what brings her happiness and joy,\u201d Caleb said.<\/p>\n

CONTINUING THE  LINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Their love of Newfoundlands has the Listons breeding them to help continue the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do all the health testing for both the sire and the dame, making sure it\u2019s a good match,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

So far the Listons have had two litters out of three attempts, with Finnegan coming as part of the first litter.<\/p>\n

They currently have a two-year wait list for their puppies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very long process. A lot of research goes into it. It\u2019s not just something we do as a hobby or fun,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis breed is so important to us. We hope that our daughter continues to carry on our lines as she grows. We want to preserve this breed and this breed type.\u201d<\/p>\n

kmills@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Liston family from left, Caleb, Quinn, Megan and Finnegan are all smiles after the family pet recieved an award of merit at this years Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City. Four years ago Caleb and Megan Liston welcomed Finnegan into their lives. Little did they know he would take them on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1318679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-22 00:10:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}