AtWestminster show, dogs dream of being the best
NEW YORK — Wesley the Dandie Dinmont terrier could feel confident of at least one win at the Westminster Kennel Club, since he was the only contestant Tuesday for best of his venerable breed.
But, while Dandies have been part of Westminster since its 1877 beginning, they’ve never won best in show. Nor have Labrador retrievers, the most prevalent purebred dogs in the United States.
Dozens of other breeds, common and rare, were still waiting for a win at the nation’s pre-eminent dog show Tuesday night. “It’s very frustrating, because they’re worthy of it. There’s beautiful dogs,” longtime golden retriever breeder Michael Pickard said with a sigh.
The nation’s third-mostpopular breed also has been shut out at Westminster so far.
But show organizers say anything can happen. After all, four of thelast 10bests in showhave been first intheir breed to win: an affenpinscher, a Scottish deerhound, a Sussex spaniel and a colored bull terrier.
“It just takes one exceptional dog,” Westminster Chief StewardSeanMcCarthy said.
Picking one exceptional dog from more than 2,700 hopefuls takes multiple rounds of assessment by different judges. They’re tasked with evaluating how well a dog meets its breed’s standards, not how popular it is. If judges ignore crowd favorites, they also often ignore other judges’ opinions.
Upsets of highly titled dogs aren’t uncommon.
After all, there’s always a first time, notes dog handler Bill McFadden, who showed a Kerry blue terrier named Mick to the breed’s first and so far only win at Westminster in 2003.
“It’s good for a dog to come out of nowhere,” McFadden said, “and become the unsung hero.”