The Westminster Dog Show is over again for another year: Best in Show went to a Wire Fox Terrier named King on Tuesday in New York, further solidifying the breed's "top dog" status in the esteemed competition. The 143rd installment of the dog show drew 2,800 dogs from around the world.
Wire Fox Terriers have now claimed the crown 15 times. The Scottish Terrier is second on the all-time list with eight titles. "It means everything," King's handler, Gabriel Rangel, told the crowd through tears at Madison Square Garden after judge Peter Green announced his pick. Green selected a Havanese named "Bono" as the runner-up over four other finalists. "After you win this magnificent competition, there's nothing more to do," Rangel said of King's future. "He should be running around a field somewhere."
The championship round featured six dogs instead of the customary seven contestants after Colton the Schipperke was excluded because of a conflict of interest. The Schipperke won the non-sporting group on Monday, a first for the small black breed. One of Colton's co-owners has co-owned dogs previously with Green.
At the outset of the "Best in Show" round, Colton was brought out to the audience and allowed to parade around briefly with the other finalists. But he was escorted off the stage before Green got down to business with the judging as an announcer explained his banishment as needed to "maintain the integrity of the sport."
In other news, a Longhaired Dachshund named Burns made it to the Best in Show part of the competition - no dachshund has ever walked off with best in show, so the fact he was even in the competition was of note.
Social media stars of the show
While they didn't make the Best in Show portions of the competition, there were two social media stars from the agility competition - Gabby the three-year-old Papillon and Rudy the bulldog.
Gabby nailed it, completing the circuit at 39.31 seconds (watch the video until the end to catch her victory high fives - or, rather, high tens):
And then Rudy the bulldog smashed stereotypes - think bulldogs just sit around lazily? Think again. He only had one misstep, what a champ:
- With reporting from AFP