2012 STONEHENGE WINNER - David Frei
David Frei is well-known to millions of television viewers as the longtime co-host of USA Network’s annual telecast of the popular Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
David has co-hosted the live Westminster coverage from New York’s Madison Square Garden since 1990. In connection with that role, he has made many appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, Ellen, The View, Martha Stewart, Charlie Rose, and many more. His adventures with the Westminster Best In Show winners have taken him many places, including the White House and for a ride on a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He has been director of communications for the Westminster Kennel Club since 2003.
David also has been co-host on NBC of The National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day since its inception in 2002, a telecast seen by about 20 million viewers every year.
His new book, Angel On A Leash, about his work and observations in the world of therapy dogs and his life in dogs, is due out in November 2011.
A longtime breeder-owner-handler and judge in the world of purebred dogs, he has judged all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Denmark and China, and has also enjoyed much competitive success with his Afghan Hounds, Brittanys and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. His Ch. Stormhill’s Who’s Zoomin Who was the #1 Afghan in 1989 and retired as the top-winning female in the history of the breed.
But he is most proud of the wonderful work that his own dogs do as therapy dogs, regularly visiting patients and families at the Ronald McDonald House New York and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His Brittanys, Teigh and Belle, who have recently passed, pioneered the practice in many places, and his Cavalier, Angel, and Brittany, Grace, are carrying on for them today.
With Westminster, David helped to create Angel On A Leash, a charitable activity supporting a therapy dog program at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian. Angel On A Leash has become an independent 501(c)(3) charity with David as president and CEO, and has expanded into a number of additional facilities across the country. The success of the program provided the inspiration for his new book of the same name.
David’s contributions to the world of dogs have been recognized by the Dog Writers Association of America in 2009 with its prestigious American Kennel Club Distinguished Service Award, and in 2010 by the World Dog Press Association with its Media Award.
He also does volunteer work with Transfiguration Church and School in New York’s Chinatown, and in 2006 was honored by the Transfiguration Education Association with a special award for “his loyal support of Transfiguration Schools and his dedication to philanthropic causes.” His work with Angel On A Leash and his own therapy dogs has been recognized by the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club with its prestigious Patricia L. Kanan award, and by a number of other organizations as well.
He is a past board member for Take The Lead, a dog show world charity that provides for people with life-threatening and financially devastating illnesses and injuries. He is a past board member of the Morris Animal Foundation, a member of the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital Sports Council, and a past president of the Afghan Hound Club of America.
David is the co-author, with Mike Lingenfelter, of The Angel By My Side, a critically-acclaimed best seller about a heroic service dog, published in 2002 (www.angelbymyside.com) and the winner of two DWAA awards as best book of the year.
In 2004, he appeared in one of the final episodes of the HBO hit series, Sex And The City, playing a smitten dog show judge awarding a big win to Charlotte and her Cavalier (mostly to Charlotte).
Previously, he held public relations positions with the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and ABC-TV Sports in New York. A native of Oregon, he owned two very unique and popular sports bar restaurants in the Seattle area, as well as his own public relations agency, before moving to New York City in 2002. His wife, Cherilyn, is a certified Catholic chaplain and Director of Spiritual Care and Family Support at The Ronald McDonald House of New York City.
