The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Knowing Uno is about to go on, I stand back. Now is not the time for questions.

Meanwhile, outside, the Empire State Building glows in purple and gold, in honor of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

But once again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's rewind to Monday morning.

I always love to attend this magnificent dog show--I've been here for the last five years or so and would hate to miss it. It's like other dog shows, but bigger, louder, and more dramatic, with more emotion and more crowd...and TV coverage in the evenings, of course.

But the day began long before the television crews rolled into Madison Square Garden. We got up early, grabbed our press credentials, and headed to the Garden, handing in our credentials for press badges. I was tired. Can you tell?

During the day, the show is set up differently than what you see on television in the evening. The main floor is divided into six smaller rings. On Monday, the first four groups--this year, that means herding, hound, terrier, and non-sporting--have their breed contests during the day, starting at about 8:00 a.m. and winding down by about 3:30 or 4 p.m. Each individual breed has a contest and that judge decides which is the best Cairn Terrier, for instance, or Irish Wolfhound, or Standard Poodle. Crowds mill around on the floor and crowd around the rings to watch their favorite breeds. Here are two examples of these daytime rings. One is, I believe, the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed ring, judging from the ridge on the back and the color--although I can't see his face. Ben doesn't remember--he took so many dog pictures! The other is the junior handler ring, where kids learning how to handle dogs compete against each other. In this contest, the handlers are judged, instead of their dogs.


We saw a lot of beautiful dogs, both in the ring, and in the very crowded benching area, where every dog showing that day has to wait, in or out of his crate, with his owners and handlers, for people to see. It gets really, really crowded in the benching area at the Garden--claustrophibically crowded. Some of the dogs that are real professionals, as well as those breeds that are more laid back--don't seem to mind at all. Others obviously don't like it. Here are a few highlights from the floor and from the benching area: A Saluki, an Irish Wolfhound, a Black-and-Tan Coonhound, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, a French Bulldog, a Colored Bull Terrier, a brace of Beagles, and a Basset Hound. Please note: If anyone is interested in purchasing the rights to publish any of these images, please contact Ben Minkler at t-rush@live.com.








This morning, we have a very important and specific job...again having to do with a very special Beagle. And as I've mentioned before, I can't give you any more details than that until the story is published in Dog Fancy, so keep an eye out for the June issue. It's a great story, if I do say so myself.

During a break in the press room, a cute little Parson Russell Terrier trotted in with his handler. Shortly after, Brazen's agent (yes, he has an agent) Susan Jaffe arrived and introduced the crowd to Brazen, show champion as well as the star of many print ads, including ads for Healthy Choice and the Avon catalogue. Brazen has also appeared on Law & Order Criminal Intent. This little terrier is brimming with personality, and Jaffe is in the process of training him to appear in movies. Brazen didn't win Best of Breed today...but she's got bigger fish to fry. We'll watch the big screen for you, Brazen!


After a tiring day at the Garden, including a break Ben and I took, ducking out to go clothes shopping at our favorite store for cheap and interesting clothing, Daffy's, we took a break to have a cocktail with the acquisitions editor at Barron's, Wayne Barr. Caroline has written quite a few very successful books for Barron's, and I'm just getting ready to start my first, for a new series they have planned. After enjoying a bourbon Manhattan in the unpleasantly crowded bar attached to the Hotel Pennsylvania (the hotel where most of the dogs in the show stay because they famously allow pets), we headed back towards the show, to catch up with a certain Beagle, to see how he would do in the Hound Group ring. Here he is, with handler Aaron Wilkerson, getting ready.




We also saw a lot of other dogs in the evening and got some great photos. A few of my favorites:



















At one point in the evening, dog expert and PR dynamo Charlotte Reed yanked my arm. "Do you want to see Carson?" she hissed. Thinking she meant some other dog, and just when I had to get post-ring quotes from a handler, I answered, "I have to work!" Then I turned around and saw who she meant. It was Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley! Ben quickly snapped a picture, then handed me the camera so I could get a picture with both of them in it. That's Charlotte Reed, in between Ben and Carson.

We're so silly.


Who won the Hound group? Uno, of course! Here I am, getting some quotable quotes.

Because of my particular assignment, we ended up getting mostly pictures of hounds tonight, even though the Herding, Terrier, and Non-sporting groups had their evening competitions as well. In case you didn't watch, the group winners on Monday night were:

* Best Hound: 15-inch Beagle Ch K-Run’s Park Me In First (Uno)
* Best Terrier: Sealyham Terrier Ch Efbe’s Hidalgo At Goodspice (Charmin)
* Best Non-Sporting: Standard Poodle Ch Brighton Minimoto (Remy)
* Best Herding: Australian Shepherd Ch Vinelake Collinswood Yablon, OA, OAJ (Deuce)

After the show ended, everyone was exhausted. Nikki and Caroline headed home in a cab. Ben and I took the subway, stopping in his favorite deli near the Milford for some much-needed dinner. This deli has a great salad bar so we filled our deli containers with our favorite salad ingredients, then trudged back to the hotel. You know we were tired because we forgot to take pictures of the food! Suffice it to say that the marinated artichoke heart and heart of palm salad was amazing. We fell asleep quickly, knowing tomorrow would be another, even bigger day.