Sharon is honored to be judging Junior Showmanship and the Bitch Classes at this year's National. She thanks the membership for their confidence.
She was born in Burbank, California, and spent most of her life in that beautiful state. Sharon graduated from college in San Diego, CA, with a teaching degree, and spent many years working in that field. During that time in the classroom, she was delighted to be selected to become the Art Resource Teacher for the San Diego City School District. When the resource teachers were no longer funded, she retired from teaching and moved to Northern California. While living there, Sharon worked in several management positions for very large and some smaller retail stores. After living most of her life living in California, her husband Jim and she decided to move to Washington State. They found a large home on the waterfront, with enough property where they could comfortably own several dogs and raise their Castlehill puppies. Sharon and Jim currently reside in Washington State.
Sharon has had a Basset Hound in her life since the 1950s. When she got married to Jim Dok in 1968, they purchased their first companion Basset. After the passing of this dog, they decided they needed a “show dog” to replace the void. They were then introduced to the “show world” with the purchase of a show-quality bitch in 1978. After that, they became serious enthusiasts and joined BHCA in 1980, and have been supporters of the club and sport ever since. Jim and Sharon have been successful Breeders of Merit using the Castlehill Basset Hounds prefix/registered. We have bred many champions, National and Specialty winners, group winners, as well as all-Breed BIS winners. In addition, bitches we have bred have achieved impressive Nationally ranked performance titles due to their dedicated owner and trainer. We are now retired from breeding and have transferred our registered kennel prefix to Tom and Tami Whitney.
Sharon was honored to receive BHCA Life Membership in 2018. Her involvement with BHCA over the years has included serving as assistant National Specialty Chair, National Specialty Raffle and Auction Chair, and, currently, a member of the National Futurity/Maturity Committee, as well as one of the founding members. Sharon is proud to be serving on the Breeder Education Preservation Breeder Committee.
Sharon has been an AKC Judge since 1991, with full status for all her applied breeds in 1993. She is currently approved to judge 7 breeds plus Junior Showmanship. She has had the privilege to judge the BHCA National Specialty show three times, with this assignment being the fourth.
Outside of her life with dogs, Sharon enjoy dabbling in most every art media and many crafts, always looking for new ways to be creative! She also enjoy working in her garden and just being outdoors. She has always had a passion for classic cars, hot rods, and old wooden boats. She is “non-stop” with growing her outside interests. Sharon enjoys learning new things and keeping active.
I thank the membership for giving me the opportunity to judge Junior Showmanship and the Bitch Classes at this 2026 BHCA National Show. I wish all participants and those at ringside an enjoyable week with old friends, new friends, and of course, the dogs!
Sharon Dok
