Purina Brace Beagle Award Winners Are 'Choc,' 'Lionheart' And 'Slim Jim'

A 2 ½-year-old chocolate Beagle named “Choc” showed remarkable talent and a steady disposition to capture the 2019 Purina Outstanding Field Trial Brace Beagle Award with two wins and a second place at Federation Futurity trials. The 13-inch female, FCB Steeler Town Boomin Business, won the Purina Derby Award in 2018. Co-bred and co-owned by Niki Happel of Pittsburgh and Marty Parker of Taylorsville, Kentucky, Choc, the youngest Field Champion they finished at 14 months of age, is also their first Purina Award Futurity winner. “To win this award requires an excellent dog and lots of luck,” Happel says. “Choc is one of those dogs who comes around once in a lifetime,” adds Parker, the handler. “She has always had a great nose and excelled at running a rabbit.” Choc is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.