7 Unforgettable Dogs at Westminster
The New York Times
The dog show can have only one winner, but each canine in contention for the title stood out in their own right.
Only one dog can win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and this year the honor went to Sage, a spectacularly coifed miniature poodle whose main-character energy was hard to ignore. But what of the dogs she defeated?
Seven dogs entered the final round, each representing distinct canine groups: herding, working, hound, terrier, toy, sporting and non-sporting. (Don’t ask what “non-sporting” means; theoretically the group could just be labeled “other.”) The dogs were big and small, fast and slow, excited and phlegmatic — a dizzying range of canine pulchritude and behavior.
Each dog was judged on how well they adhered to the Platonic ideal of their breed. But even the losers were winners. Here’s a look at what made the seven finalists champions in their own right, and impossible to forget.