Bloodhound Breeder’s Dogs Are Still ‘Best in Show’ 25 Years Later

Originally published here at AKC.org on September 18, 2025 by Melanie Haid

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You may recognize “Hubert” the Bloodhound from the 2000 movie, “Best in Show,” directed by Christopher Guest. The film starred real-life champion dogs, including “Rocky,” who played Hubert. Rocky, who was a puppy at the time of filming, was surrounded by the likes of Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, and more in this now-classic movie.

Rocky was one of Susan Lacroix Hamil’s Bloodhounds from her breeding program, Quiet Creek Bloodhounds. She had already been breeding Bloodhounds for over 20 years when the film came out. As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the movie Best in Show, learn more about Rocky and Lacroix Hamil’s Bloodhound breeding program.

A Natural Progression Into Dog Shows

Lacroix Hamil grew up with and exhibited horses in Louisiana. She says had “typical stable dogs” — cattle and herding-type dogs. “I wanted something a little more unusual, and I had seen a picture of a Bloodhound puppy in Town and Country magazine,” she recalls. She was 16 at the time. Though the puppy ended up not being a Bloodhound, but an All-American hound dog, it still inspired her love for Bloodhounds. She named him “Luke,” after the protagonist in the 1967 film, “Cool Hand Luke.” Even as a teenager, Lacroix Hamil was drawn to movies and films.

So when her dad moved to Southern California, she joined him. At the time, she was 17 or 18. Before she knew it, she came across a litter of Bloodhound puppies advertised in the newspaper. And this time, they were really Bloodhounds. “It was a pretty, well-bred AKC puppy,” she recalls. She moved back to Louisiana and began showing the dog, “Sunshine,” in conformation. Coming from 4-H and exhibiting horses, conformation felt natural to her. She was always looking to improve, and upon asking one of the judges what she could do better, he recommended that she join the American Bloodhound Club. She became a member in 1972, and from there, her lifelong love of the breed and dedication to breeding healthy Bloodhounds only grew.

The Rise and Fall of the Bloodhound

In the late 1970s, she moved out to California and started breeding Bloodhounds. Around the same time, she finished her first champion Bloodhound at the Silver Bay Kennel Club in San Diego. “At the time, there were so few Bloodhounds that we showed them in combined sexes,” Lacroix Hamil recalls. Regional specialties in the 1970s and 80s saw anywhere from 75 to 80 Bloodhounds. In 2025, Lacroix Hamil says, they’re lucky to see 12.

At this point, she had a few Bloodhounds, but some areas of California have restrictive zoning laws and require animal permits. In Laguna Beach, for example, she says there is a three-dog limit, and anything beyond that requires a permit, and owners must be licensed and inspected every year. “It’s expensive to try and breed dogs, the veterinary costs, and just the costs of a large breed puppy,” she says. “So I think here, those influences have made a big difference.”

Lacroix Hamil has seen the breed come full circle in terms of popularity. When she started in the breed, there weren’t many Bloodhounds, and she says that now, numbers have dipped again. But there was a time when Bloodhounds were very popular in advertising, resulting in a boom in breed ownership. Around this time, Lacroix Hamil was, coincidentally, involved in a lot of film, TV, and commercial work with her Bloodhounds.

“You advertise your puppies in the papers, so I had calls from trainers for Bloodhounds, and when they needed a specific Bloodhound for something, they would call,” she says. “I would provide the Bloodhounds up and sit for the day.” She got to know many trainers, including successful animal trainers and wranglers who worked in the film industry at the time. Often, they weren’t limited to dogs and trained everything from lions to mice.

A Unique Detour for Her Show Dogs

Around the time that dogs were being sought out for a conformation mockumentary, Lacroix Hamil had already been doing movie work for 15–20 years. But “Best in Show” was different. “Christopher Guest, if you know his [films], he doesn’t do scripts,” Lacroix Hamil says. “He has his group of actors develop their characters. They went to different dog shows in Southern California for a year and a half or more, observing ringside, thinking about and developing their characters.” The actors also took handling classes from one of the judges in the area, Dany Canino, whom they’d gotten to know through their character research.

“Maybe it wasn’t the same degree, but there were certain, very typical characteristics of dog show handlers and owners depicted in that,” Lacroix Hamil says. “It looks at us in a way that we need to look at ourselves. And we are those people. If you were around at that time, you could recognize everybody you knew in that movie.”

Canino helped the cast choose dog breeds that would suit their characters. Guest originally wanted a Black and Tan Coonhound for Hubert, but it’s hard to read their expressions on camera because of their coloring. “Dany suggested a Bloodhound, and she contacted me,” Lacroix Hamil says. “So I took five Bloodhounds up to Castle Rock Studios on Maple Drive in LA, and met with Christopher Guest and his assistants.”

Rocky’s Instant Celebrity Connection

Guest would be playing Harlan Pepper, Hubert’s owner and handler. He came out to greet Lacroix Hamil in full costume — red sideburns and all — to meet the dogs. “When the dogs got out of the van, Christopher Guest looked at that dog, and it was like immediately, that’s the one,” Lacroix Hamil recalls of his connection with Rocky.

At the time, Rocky was only a little over a year old. But Guest knew the dog needed to be male and a show dog. The other dogs in the movie were from Canada, and a large portion of filming took place there. While Guest saw something in Rocky, Lacroix Hamil couldn’t travel at the time. But after some convincing, her coworker, Evelyn Jones, was able to take time off and go with Rocky to Canada.

“We got to go to the red carpet premiere in Hollywood,” Lacroix says. “All the comedy talent was up there for the Christopher Guest movie.” “Best in Show” was Rocky’s first — and only — on-screen appearance. But the one was enough. Rocky, at his core, was a show dog, and that’s what Lacroix Hamil continued to focus on. “He had such a sweet temperament. He was so kind in every way. He did finish his AKC championship, and we did take him to [Madison Square] Garden one year,” Lacroix Hamil says. “I told my handler, he’s got to go!”

Rocky sired a little of his own after the movie. Now, three generations later, Rocky’s genes live on, as does Lacroix Hamil’s breeding program and dedication to the breed.

Breeding Bloodhounds

In the late 70s, Lacroix Hamil says there were Bloodhounds in everything, from movies to commercials to magazines. “Everybody wanted Bloodhounds,” she says. “People didn’t get that they are pack dogs. They look, act, and want to be pack dogs.”

Unfortunately, many dogs were turned over to rescues during and after this Bloodhound boom. In 1978, Lacroix Hamil’s local breed club started one of the area’s first purebred rescues for Bloodhounds. “We had access to my husband’s veterinary hospital, and we were rescuing over 50 Bloodhounds a year just in Southern California,” she says.

Since she’s been breeding Bloodhounds under the kennel name “Quiet Creek” since 1972, Lacroix Hamil has learned a great deal about the breed over the years. While she’d love to see their popularity grow again, she advocates for the breed’s welfare above all else. “Everyone needs to really take that seriously,” she says. “Club members need to be engaged actively in breeding dogs, mentoring people, promoting dogs, and participating in Junior Showmanship activities to help mentor those kids.”

Lacroix Hamil cites the mentors she had in the American Bloodhound Club when she was young as a major part of her success and love for the breed. “They were great mentors, and I really appreciate what they did for me, and I want to pass that on.” And she’s seen a great deal of success across her breeding program. Aside from appearing in high-profile films like “Best in Show,” she’s finished over 100 champions, and bred close to 100 titleholders.

“In my 40-something years of dogs, things have changed a lot. Society has changed, and I’m hoping that we keep purebred dogs relevant to the generation today,” she says. “It’s turned out to be a classic. I think 25 years on, [the movie is] a benefit to purebred dogs.”