Last modified: Sunday, March 2, 2008 11:17 PM EST David Stevens poses with Noddi, a Swedish Vallhund. (Staff photo by MARTIN GAVIN) Attleboro teen pursuing career as dog handler BY SUSAN LaHOUD / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - David Stevens is a fresh face hoping to break new ground with an old breed. His first trip to the Westminster Dog Show last month cemented his path, he said, and the 15-year-old Attleboro High School student is now in training with Noddi, a Swedish Vallhund, to be a handler at dog shows. Local Swedish Vallhund breeder Kerstin Ottmar took Stevens, along with her dogs, to the prestigious dog show last month in New York City. His first exposure to the event was seeing it on television two years ago. "It was so amazing," Stevens said of his first trip to the Westminster. "There were tons more dogs and people than I had ever seen at a show. "It was really overwhelming," but "it reaffirmed that I want to be a professional dog handler... I've always just loved animals." After watching the Westminster Dog Show on television, Stevens' curiosity was further piqued upon reading a Sun Chronicle article about a girl who had shown dogs at the annul event, dubbed "America's Dog Show." Stevens called the girl to find out what was entailed and "bugged" his parents a bit to let him take dog handling classes. He started going to classes with his yellow lab, "but she was pet material," he said. A smooth fox terrier was next, but it did not meet breed standards. It also didn't take to being shown, he said. The two dogs are still with Stevens' family as pets, along with a guinea pig and a hamster. Now, there's Noddi, his new training partner, who is about 12.5 inches high and weighs in at about 26 pounds. Stevens paired up with the dog after meeting Ottmar at a match about a year ago. "She's a good girl," he said of Noddi during a recent interview in his Attleboro home. He is the son of Greg and Christine Stevens. Stevens attends classes once a week at Canine Mastery in Seekonk, with an eye toward Westminster next year, the 133rd year of the event. He had hoped to help show the Swedish Vallhund this year, but his certification papers got there too late. "I was disappointed," he said. Now, his aim is to amass enough wins in competition to eventually qualify for the junior showmanship category at Westminster. That will mean getting 10 first place wins in a very competitive field, Ottmar said. Stevens is "campaigning" Noddi, meaning he has to compete in breed competitions as well as for junior showmanship. Just a week earlier, he and Noddi walked away from a Hartford, Conn., dog show with Best in Breed. The experience has certainly reshaped his initial perception of what a dog handler does. "I thought it would be easy, just walking around the ring," Stevens said to the laughter of Ottmar and her mother, Marilyn Thell, who at 77 has spent most of her life breeding and showing dogs. Noddi currently splits her time between Ottmar's and Stevens' homes. During the interview for this story, she sat next to Greg Stevens then cuddled next to Thell on the couch. Christine Stevens said she and her husband are discussing with their son what type of career this might translate into, perhaps as a veterinary technician or a related profession. For right now, though, Stevens, a high honors student, has his eyes on the prize. SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.