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Christian Manelopoulos and Rachel Corbin are used to competing together as handlers and groomers at dog shows. But this year the husband and wife are competing against each other for the Cardinal Crystal Show Dog Groomer of the Year Award.

"It's great for the two of us to be nominated," said Manelopoulos, who won last year. "I feel excited. Out of the thousands of groomers across the country, it's nice to be in that small group."

The two, owners of Greensboro Pet Spa and Resort, are among six nominees this year and have worked with a number of champion canines, including standard poodle CH Brighton Minimoto, aka Remy, who last year earned first place in the non sporting group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Manelopoulos came to the U.S. in 1992 to work with dog handler Tim Brazier.

He and Corbin met at a dog show and got married in 2000.

The couple are internationally renowned for their poodle grooming, with clients from as far away as Japan.

At their home and business on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, they typically have several dozen of the fluffy-haired dogs.

"The grooming, especially with the poodles, is kind of an art," he said. "You take a dog that's a little hairy and overgrown and make it into something quite spectacular, like taking a lump of clay and making some beautiful pottery out of it. That's very rewarding to see.

"And the dogs, they have a renewed confidence in themselves. The dogs can tell they look better and they feel better."

Each year Cardinal Laboratories, sponsor of the Cardinal Crystal Award, prints a nominating ballot in Dogs in Review magazine. Breeders, groomers, handlers and others who work on the dog show circuit can put forward someone they think is deserving of the honor.

The nominees are judged on criteria such as sportsmanship, humaneness to animals and, of course, grooming ability.

"The breed of dog has a lot to do with it," Barbara Denzer, vice president of Cardinal Laboratories, said in a telephone interview. "It takes a lot more work to groom a standard poodle than it does, say, a Manchester terrier. Someone with that breed may be very, very good with their dog, but they may not have the same difficulty of grooming."

The award will be handed out Saturday in New York. Westminster will take place Feb. 9 and 10.

Manelopoulos and Corbin will be taking part in the show again this year, but they probably won't spend near as much time grooming this year as they have in the past. They're taking a greyhound.

Contact Robert C. Lopez at 691-5091 or robert.lopez@news-record.com.