Spinone Italiano

To Sebastian and her spinone Italiano friends, there are two sides to the poodles.

Sitting with four of her spinone Italiano pals, snacking near Ring 1, Sebastian offered another view on the pooch pageant.

A blue-and-white buoy hung from the front door, which opened into a warm, uncarpeted knotty-pine clutter: a wood-burning stove with a throw rug in front of it for their large black Spinone Italiano, Stella; blanket-covered sofas; miniature trains on a windowsill; duck decoys and a stuffed-animal chimp; a Union Jack pinned to the back wall; a Smith-Corona manual typewriter on the kitchen counter, beside a table carved from a piece of pasture pine by Coleman’s father.

The eternally cheerful Grymek is the dog concierge at the Hotel Pennsylvania, which each February becomes home to hundreds of canines, including an opera-loving Spinone Italiano, who are competing to be crowned best in show by the Westminster Kennel Club.