She's the best, and howl
Back-to-back National Dog Show wins
Claire is a bone-afide champ. History was made Thursday at the National Dog Show — the beloved annual event hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia — when a Scottish deerhound named Claire, who also won last year, was named Best in Show.
Claire’s victory marks the first time a dog has won back-to-back in the show’s 20-year history, hosts noted.
“In 20 years of the National Dog Show, there’s never been a repeat champion until tonight,” commentator Mary Carillo said of the two-time top dog.
Claire was cheered on by vaccinated spectators — a return toward normal after last year’s fan-less spectacle — as she pranced in a victory lap around the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa. The event was filmed on Nov. 20 and 21 but aired Thursday on NBC.
“She’s a year older and more sure of herself,” handler Angela Lloyd said of Claire, whose registered name is GCH Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser.
Part of the Hound group, the 4-yearold canine also earned a $20,000 prize. Competition included Chester the Affenpinscher, Sasha the Pyrenean shepherd, MM the Lakeland terrier, Jade the German shorthaired pointer, Mo’Ne the
Kuvasz and Winter the bulldog.
Last year, Claire was the first of her breed to fetch the coveted title, though her grandmother won Best in Show at the 2011 Westminster Dog Show. But Claire, who resides in Virginia, is now the topwinning Scottish deerhound in history.
“Claire, in her mind, really believes in herself and has a lot of confidence in who she is. And if you looked like her, wouldn’t you?” Lloyd said. “She is just truly at the top of her game.”
The Biewer terrier, meanwhile, made its debut in the Toy group. There were a total of 209 breeds represented in seven groups — Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the National Dog Show, which has become somewhat of a Thanksgiving Day tradition, airing immediately after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was hosted by John O’Hurley and David Frei, emcees for the show since it first aired on NBC in 2002.
“We estimate that, since then, onequarter of a billion people have watched,” organizers said.
O’Hurley said, “Dogs more than ever have become a part of people’s lives and the show reminds us of how great they are and how easy it is for them to make us smile.”