It's A Dog Eat Dog World
Last week, while the snow fell and the wind howled, I nestled up on the couch to read a good book. I intended to turn the tube on for only a minute to locate the consistently inaccurate weather forecast, but quickly became transfixed with another storm. It was the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Now I’m not usually impressed with beauty pageants, but I happened to catch the Sporting Group which presented a most gorgeous vizsla (I would choose him any day over Miss New Jersey). I had to watch and see if he won. Sadly, he placed 2nd in his group. Before I knew it, two hours had elapsed and it was time for Best in Show. So in honor of Christopher Guest I thought it best to indulge.
Here were the finalists, complete with supercilious show titles:
Working Group – Akita Redwitch Reason to Believe
Terrier Group – Dandie Dinmont Terrier Hobergays Fineus Fogg (co-owned by Bill Cosby)
Toy Group – Toy Poodle Smash JP Win a Victory
Non-Sporting Group – Standard Poodle Brighton Minimoto
Working Group – English Springer Spaniel Felicity’s Diamond Jim
Hound Group – Petits Bassets Griffons Vendeen Celestial CJ’s Jolly Fairchild
Herding Group – Bouviers des Flandres Aces Indelible Mark HT (I’m thinking of naming my first-born after this one)
Before I continue with Best in Show (I’m sure you are all bursting with anticipation), I thought I’d provide a few interesting facts about this prestigious 130 year tradition. Just to put it into perspective, this predates the invention of the light bulb and the World Series. There are over 2,500 dogs entered spanning 165 breeds and varieties from all over the world. Pennsylvania ranks third in the number of entries. With 50, the Rhodesian Ridgeback is the most entered breed at Westminster. The Labrador retriever is the #1 registered dog in the AKC, closely followed by the Yorkshire Terrier. The Basenji is the only breed that cannot bark. The Basset Hound has the largest bone structure in relation to its size. The Sussex Spaniels takes its first steps backwards. General George Custer had two Staghounds entered in the dog show in the 1880s. Last year’s winner was a bull terrier named Rufus.
Although this show and its participants are worth millions, it is not without a philanthropic side. I was very pleased to see its viewers and participants raise $1.5 million for the Humane Society. In addition, the Westminster Kennel Club sponsors the Angels on a Leash program which offers therapy dogs to pediatric patients in New York. I also must comment on the number of Humane Society commercials encouraging viewers to visit their local shelters and take home a dog-in-need instead of a purebred. These advertisements distracted me just enough so as not to view this particular dog show as a contributing factor to the puppy mill atrocities plaguing America...but we’ll save that for another blog.
Back to Best in Show. Talk about a fierce competition! The crowd seemed to overwhelmingly favor the PBGV. Despite their best attempt to sound indifferent, a slight favoritism was detected for the Akita from the announcers. After learning the toy poodle came from central PA, I abandoned my aversion of little dogs and silently rooted for her. In the end though, it was sequestered judge Dr. Robert A. Indeglia who held the pooches’ fate in his hands. The 7 dogs each had a total of 1 minute to impress him. Teeth, bone structure, and coat were inspected, followed by a 20 second trot around the arena. Gait and movement are allotted equal points. Using my untrained eye, I noticed the PVGB stalled a bit in his lap and the Dandie Dinmont appeared to nip his trainer. But the rest was a free-for-all! After a long suspense-induced pause, the English Springer Spaniel was crowned winner. What a beautiful moment. James (his nickname) truly basked in the limelight! When asked why he chose this dog over all others, the doctor boasted, “It was his personality, heart, and confirmation. He is a fabulous dog…he just had that look in his eye.” I suspect it had more to do with his trainer’s exquisite taste in fashion. After all, her cocoa-colored shimmering pleatheresque top matched James’ shiny coat perfectly.
Here were the finalists, complete with supercilious show titles:
Working Group – Akita Redwitch Reason to Believe
Terrier Group – Dandie Dinmont Terrier Hobergays Fineus Fogg (co-owned by Bill Cosby)
Toy Group – Toy Poodle Smash JP Win a Victory
Non-Sporting Group – Standard Poodle Brighton Minimoto
Working Group – English Springer Spaniel Felicity’s Diamond Jim
Hound Group – Petits Bassets Griffons Vendeen Celestial CJ’s Jolly Fairchild
Herding Group – Bouviers des Flandres Aces Indelible Mark HT (I’m thinking of naming my first-born after this one)
Before I continue with Best in Show (I’m sure you are all bursting with anticipation), I thought I’d provide a few interesting facts about this prestigious 130 year tradition. Just to put it into perspective, this predates the invention of the light bulb and the World Series. There are over 2,500 dogs entered spanning 165 breeds and varieties from all over the world. Pennsylvania ranks third in the number of entries. With 50, the Rhodesian Ridgeback is the most entered breed at Westminster. The Labrador retriever is the #1 registered dog in the AKC, closely followed by the Yorkshire Terrier. The Basenji is the only breed that cannot bark. The Basset Hound has the largest bone structure in relation to its size. The Sussex Spaniels takes its first steps backwards. General George Custer had two Staghounds entered in the dog show in the 1880s. Last year’s winner was a bull terrier named Rufus.
Although this show and its participants are worth millions, it is not without a philanthropic side. I was very pleased to see its viewers and participants raise $1.5 million for the Humane Society. In addition, the Westminster Kennel Club sponsors the Angels on a Leash program which offers therapy dogs to pediatric patients in New York. I also must comment on the number of Humane Society commercials encouraging viewers to visit their local shelters and take home a dog-in-need instead of a purebred. These advertisements distracted me just enough so as not to view this particular dog show as a contributing factor to the puppy mill atrocities plaguing America...but we’ll save that for another blog.
Back to Best in Show. Talk about a fierce competition! The crowd seemed to overwhelmingly favor the PBGV. Despite their best attempt to sound indifferent, a slight favoritism was detected for the Akita from the announcers. After learning the toy poodle came from central PA, I abandoned my aversion of little dogs and silently rooted for her. In the end though, it was sequestered judge Dr. Robert A. Indeglia who held the pooches’ fate in his hands. The 7 dogs each had a total of 1 minute to impress him. Teeth, bone structure, and coat were inspected, followed by a 20 second trot around the arena. Gait and movement are allotted equal points. Using my untrained eye, I noticed the PVGB stalled a bit in his lap and the Dandie Dinmont appeared to nip his trainer. But the rest was a free-for-all! After a long suspense-induced pause, the English Springer Spaniel was crowned winner. What a beautiful moment. James (his nickname) truly basked in the limelight! When asked why he chose this dog over all others, the doctor boasted, “It was his personality, heart, and confirmation. He is a fabulous dog…he just had that look in his eye.” I suspect it had more to do with his trainer’s exquisite taste in fashion. After all, her cocoa-colored shimmering pleatheresque top matched James’ shiny coat perfectly.
No matter what the reason, there you have it. To all who doubt that dog shows are a sport or the participants are athletes, there is your spoken truth. A look in the eye is all is takes to make a world champion.
No comments:
Post a Comment