Best In Show

Patty Hearst's Dog Wins At Westminster

Hearst's pooch won best of breed for the toy group and will compete in the finals tonight. The dog is named Rocket, not Tania as one might hope.

Westminster's 2014 Best In Show

A wire fox terrier named Sky won last night's 138th annual Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden.

This was Sky's 129th best in show ribbon overall -- she became a Triple Crown winner in dogdom, too, having previously taken the National Dog Show and the top AKC event. A wire fox terrier has won 14 times at the nation's top dog show. No other breed has won more than eight times. The winner with the ginger-and-white coat and little terrier goatee beat out an impressive lineup for the final ring. Also competing were a standard poodle, a Portuguese water dog, bloodhound, an Irish water spaniel, a Cardigan Welsh corgi and a miniature pinscher. "She has the `it' factor. She owned this night," Leininger said. The standard poodle named Ally was chosen as the runner-up.

The winner's full name: "GCH Afterall Painting The Sky." I was pulling for the corgi.

Ewok Wins Westminster 2013

His name is Banana Joe. Details.

"Not A Cat" Wins Westminster Dog Show

A tiny Pekingese named Malachy bested 185 other breeds to take the top Westminster prize at Madison Square Garden yesterday.

“He’s a super dog who had a stupendous night,” Vogels told reporters as Malachy lay quietly on a table before them. His handler and part-owner, David Fitzpatrick, was asked whether the 11-pound (5 kilograms) champ has feline traits, given that he loosely resembles a Persian cat. “He’s not like a cat at all,” he said. “He’s like a Pekingese.”

TODAY IN NYC: Dogs Against Romney Protest Outside Westminster Show

Details!

Best In Show

Hickory the Scottish deerhound won best in show at the Westminster Dog Show in Manhattan last night. I attended Westminster a few years ago and the best part is walking around under Madison Square Garden before the show, when they let you meet a lot of the dogs.

Westminster: Sadie Wins, PETA Disrupts

A four year-old Scottish terrier named Sadie won Best of Show at Westminster yesterday, moments after PETA protesters took over the center ring to scream about puppy mills.

Two women walked into the center ring at Madison Square Garden and held up signs that said "Mutts Rule" and "Breeders Kill Shelter Dogs' Chances," the latter a slogan popularized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The crowd of 15,000 gasped at the PETA-inspired protest, then booed the women and cheered as security ushered them away without incident. The interruption lasted about a minute and was not featured on the USA Network telecast. Moments later, the 4-year-old Sadie climbed the purple best in show podium where one of the women had stood. "I thought it was well-controlled by our people," Westminster spokesman David Frei said, without elaborating.

PETA's own hands are scarcely clean when it comes to killing dogs, of course.

Senior Citizen Wins Westminster

Ten year-old Stump, a Sussex spaniel, has become the oldest dog ever to win Westminster.

At 10 years old, Stump the Sussex spaniel should be well into his dotage. Instead, the dog who technically retired four years ago took home Best in Show on Tuesday at the 133rd Annual Westminster Kennel Club show at Madison Square Garden, becoming the oldest to win the award. Stump, officially named Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, might have surprised aficionados, who had their eye on a giant schnauzer, but the crowd clearly preferred the jaunty spaniel. Stump was greeted with deafening applause each time he plodded around the ring. It was the first time that a Sussex spaniel won the top prize, although the breed, which originated as a hunting companion in England, was among the first to be recognized by the American Kennel Club.

The judge was unaware of Stump's age.

PETA Protests Westminster

If you were going past Madison Square Garden last night, you might have thought the KKK was having a membership drive. But no, it was just PETA handing out flyers to protest the Westminster dog show.

"Is this really the KKK?'' somebody asked the woman in the white robe and the pointy hat. Crowds gawked Monday at a table set up outside Madison Square Garden, where People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was protesting the start of the Westminster Kennel Club show. PETA contends that the American Kennel Club promotes pure-breeding of dogs that is harmful to their health. "Welcome AKC Members,'' read a banner hanging from the table -- with AKC crossed out and KKK written above it. Two PETA protesters dressed as Ku Klux Klan members, while other volunteers handed out brochures that read: "The KKK and the AKC: BFF?" Most passers-by seemed more puzzled than offended, though those who didn't stop walked away thinking they really had seen the KKK. The most common reaction was to pull out a cell phone and start snapping photos. Police monitored the situation from nearby, but the scene was mostly calm. One shouting match broke out during the hour-long protest. Earlier, a man strode away yelling, "That's disgusting! I'm going to buy more fur!'' Fatima Walden, who spotted the protest during a shopping trip, called the KKK imagery inappropriate no matter what the message. "They could have used something else as an example," she said. "You should be considerate to everybody.

AKC=KKK. Because dogs are slaves? Because....huh?

Numero Uno

Who's a sweet, sweet doggie? Uno, the first beagle to ever win Westminster, that's who. Uno's well-chosen stage name is K-Run's Park Me In First. My childhood dog was a beagle. I've always had a soft spot for hounds. Ah-ooo!