After coming close in the last two years, Monty the giant schnauzer won the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Tuesday night, leaving handler and co-owner Katie Bernardin almost too emotional to speak.
“He always tries so hard, and we’re just proud of him,” she told the crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The spirited schnauzer bested six other finalists to become the first of his breed tapped as Westminster’s best in show, the most prestigious prize in the US dog show world. The spirited schnauzer won the huge American Kennel Club championship in December last year, and he had been at Westminster twice before.
Photo: AFP
A standout because of “everything from his attitude to his structure,” Monty is bold, cocky and fun, according to co-owner Sandy Nordstrom.
“He’s just a really cool dog,” she said in an interview before his win, which would be his last. The five-year-old is retiring from showing.
The runner-up was, for the third time, a whippet known as Bourbon. Other finalists included a bichon frise called Neal, a Skye terrier named Archer, and a shih tzu called Comet who has been a finalist before.
Photo: Reuters
Also in the mix were a German shepherd named Mercedes, who came in second last year, and an English springer spaniel named Freddie.
Each dog at Westminster is judged according to how closely it matches the ideal for its breed. Winners get a trophy, ribbons and bragging rights, but no cash prize.
During a break between semi-final rounds, security personnel surrounded and ousted someone along the sidelines of the ring. The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has protested the dog show for years, said on X that a supporter was removed after holding a sign.
Photo: Reuters
Westminster says it celebrates all dogs.
The show champions that compete also are household pets, and some do therapy work, search-and-rescue or other canine jobs.
“A good German shepherd is an all-purpose dog,” Mercedes’ co-breeder and co-owner Sheree Moses Combs said.
Combs said some of her pups have become service dogs for wounded veterans.
“Dog shows are fun, but that is what our breed is all about,” she said.
While Monty got this year’s trophy, other hopefuls also scored points with spectators.
During two nights of semi-finals, spectators shouted out breeds and names of canine competitors as if they played for one of the pro teams that call the Garden home, the NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers.
“Love you, Lumpy,” someone yelled to a Pekingese named Lumpy, who earned laughs for his ambling gait.
The arena erupted with cheers for Penny the Doberman pinscher and for a golden retriever named Tuffy, a representative of a popular breed that has never won. She also got some recognition from the judge, as did another crowd favorite, Calaco the Xoloitzcuintli. Calaco’s breed are hairless dogs with deep roots in Mexico.
A trip to Westminster is a reminder of dogs’ variety, even just among purebreds. While big, “working” dogs had their day at Westminster on Tuesday, so did terriers.
First-round competitor Brina, for instance, is a 71.6kg Neapolitan mastiff. The jowly breed was developed to be an imposing guard dog, but Brina’s owner, Yves Belmont, said he also is impressed by its intelligence.
He keeps several of the dogs at his Atlanta-area home.
“I’ve been struck by this breed since I was 12... They’re so unique,” Belmont said.
Meanwhile, Tyra the miniature bull terrier also strutted her stuff in a first-round ring.
The hardy terrier breed is “a big dog in a small package, but they always keep you smiling,” owner and co-breeder Jessica Harrison said.
Asked where the two-year-old Tyra falls on the mischief meter, Harrison smiled and said: “Like a nine, for sure.”
“You can’t be upset with them, because they’re just so cute,” she said as Tyra rolled on her back to get a belly rub from a passerby at the Javits Center, the convention venue that hosted the first-round judging of each breed.
Westminster also featured agility and obedience championships, held on Saturday last week. The agility prize went to a border collie named Vanish, and an Australian shepherd called Willie triumphed in obedience.
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