There's Only One: Westminster at 150

Award-winning audio producer and Canine Chronicle feature writer Sarah Montague has created an audio documentary celebrating the 150th anniversary of this iconic event.  It moves from the Club’s founding in 1877 to the edge of this year’s show.  On the way, we hear about a storied past; the show’s place in history and culture; and some of the important people, and dogs, who are part of its narrative.  

This extraordinary narrative was over a year in the making and feaures Westminster Kennel Club President Dr. Donald Sturz, and conversations with John Ashbey; Linda Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; Ernesto Lara; Michelle Scott; Tommy Tomlinson.  With readings by The Gilded Age’s Simon Jones. 

Transcript

A Gilded Age Origin Story

SPEAKER_10 0:01

And tonight's best and show to the fake and least.

SPEAKER_23 0:05

This is a miniature poodle.

SPEAKER_10 0:07

It's the TV TV.

SPEAKER_23 0:10

The bloodhound. What a stunner. History is made.

SPEAKER_13 0:18

Westminster. There's only one.

SPEAKER_22 0:23

For 150 years, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been celebrating dogs. When it claims there's only one, it is embracing its unique past as well as its vital present. The show was a product of the Gilded Age.

SPEAKER_20 0:39

New York is a collection of villages. The old have been in charge since before the revolution.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

I want to do something with my life. For a New Yorker, anything is possible.

SPEAKER_05 0:50

And if you were the future, the name must be the past.

SPEAKER_17 0:53

Well, things move faster nowadays.

SPEAKER_22 0:56

Yes, that one. This period from 1870 to the start of the 20th century shaped modern American society. Business, industry, and technology surged, and it created a new aspirational class. Leisure and culture were part of those aspirations. As a wealthy member of this new tier of society, you could build a mansion, marry well, endow a museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was established in 1870, or start a sporting club. Westminster's Foundation document, a multimedia compilation available on the club's website, has this sedate entry for 1875.

SPEAKER_05 1:38

In 1875, a group of sportsmen met at the Westminster Hotel in New York City and founded the Westminster Club, with the goal to promote the betterment of dogs for both sporting and confirmation.

SPEAKER_22 1:52

The Westminster Hotel was at 16th and Irving Place, adjacent to the exclusive Gramercy Park Square. An imposing building, rather like a wedding cake, it was a favorite of gentlemen of quality, a term used by the actor Edmund Booth, whose home at 15 Gramercy Park became another aspirational institution, the Players Club. On that important evening in 1875, the bar might have been serving warming cocktails like the old-fashioned or the whiskey sour, or a little brandy to keep the chill out. So Westminster's founders may have gone into the hotel for a good time and a little jocular one-upmanship, but they came out with a mission. It was born with some combination of affluence, high spirits, competitiveness, and the most important ingredient in any canine enterprise.

SPEAKER_25 2:46

Yeah, I often speak about how Westminster is a celebration of the universal love of dogs.

SPEAKER_22 2:51

That's Dr. Donald Sturs, the president of the Westminster Kennel Club. We'll hear more from him later. The founders, 18 of them, were rich men, but they were not the idle rich. They came from the professional and business classes and had a strong sense of order and commitment. So first a club. But then a show. There had been successful shows in Chicago and Philadelphia. It was New York's turn. It seems fitting that the show's first venue was created by P. T. Barnum, America's greatest showman. Barnum leased the site of a former railroad at 26th in Madison and with typical hyperbole created the Great Roman Hippodrome, where he presented the types of sensational circus acts that had made him famous. But by the time the leadership of the Westminster Kennel Club was shopping for a space, Barnum had moved on, and the site was operated by band leader Patrick Gilmore. He christened the building Gilmore's Gardens and presented everything from flower shows to boxing matches. And in May of 1877, Gilmore's Gardens welcomed the first annual New York Bench Show of Dogs, presented by the Westminster Kennel Club. According to William Stiefle, who celebrated Westminster's 125th anniversary in his lavishly illustrated book, The Dog Show, the show was a success. It lasted over four days and featured some 1,200 entries. Attendance was high and press coverage, including vivid depictions of various dogs in the illustrated papers, was broad and enthusiastic. The Kennel Club website provides this summary.

SPEAKER_05 4:33

The New York Daily Herald, which praised the show as a major success, noted that in point of numbers and quality of dogs, eminent authorities claim the present exhibition is superior to any ever before held. The arrangements are very complete. The committee of gentlemen from the Westminster Kennel Club, under whose auspices the show is held, bringing great experience and ability to bear on the work required. Here's an example from the Times. The gentlemen who served as ticket sellers could not make change fast enough to suit the impatience of the throng that was continually clamoring for admittance. And not only the dogs were being rated. Everybody was fashionably dressed and wore an air of good

The First Show And Sensation’s Rise

SPEAKER_05 5:20

breeding.

SPEAKER_22 5:21

From the first, Westminster had something that would set it apart from other examples of this growing sport. It was a dog show embedded in the heart of a great metropolis, and it was a bench show. The general public could attend and marvel, but also get up close and personal.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

The thing is, at a dog show like Westminster, people could see JP Morgan's dog, even pet them for the price of a ticket. And people in the new middle class could spend a little money, but way less than JP Morgan did. They showed their dogs in the same ring. Regular folks can imagine common ground between themselves and the operas of the upper crust. They love dogs. I love dogs. Maybe we're not so far apart.

SPEAKER_22 6:11

That's Tommy Tomlinson, the author of Dogland, a populist history of the fancy centering on Westminster. JP Morgan did indeed exhibit at the early Westminster shows. William Stiefle tells us that Morgan was a collie man. The early shows featured sporting breeds such as setters and pointers, including the pointer Sensation, who was brought over from England as a foundation sire and would become the club's mascot. Dogs owned by the club or club members were exhibited but did not compete. The dog arrived as Don, but underwent an immediate transformation.

SPEAKER_07 6:48

He was the uh first real famous dog, as they called him Sensation, they were into sensationalizing things. He shows up as the cover of the very first catalog for their first show in 1877, and there's even an ad for his stud properties.

SPEAKER_22 7:03

That's Alan Fossil, the curator at the AKC Museum of the Dog. Engravings of Sensation demonstrating a pointer's trademark stance with a raised forepaw and a questing expression became the basis for the club's logo.

SPEAKER_07 7:18

For most of the time he was the brand of the Westminster Kennel Club.

SPEAKER_22 7:22

Today, Sensation also lives on in the Sensation Award, given in recognition of contributions to the club. As Westminster evolved, more breeds were added, and illustrated papers like Harper's Weekly featured lively drawings and captions of well-known dogs and other events of the day. The illustrations, delicate engravings taken from photographs, bordered on caricature, replicating the treatment merited to public figures in the contemporary press. A Harper's cover from May 12, 1883, includes a St. Bernard, a Mastiff, two clumber spaniels, a beagle, a pug, and an Irish water spaniel carrying a prone duck, presumably a bit of embellishment on the part of the artist. The show immediately became a New York City marquee event, covered by all the major press which were saying something. At the time there were 15 daily papers. But Westminster was also featured in cultural magazines. Harper's called itself a journal of civilization, and the New Yorker, which celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 2025, publishes a Westminster-themed cover every year to coincide with a show. Its Westminster occasional correspondent for a time was the urbane essayist and children's book author E.B. White. A feature from Valentine's Day 1931, once the show became a February fixture, also became an unofficial way to test drive one's love interest, may have been edited by the humorist and illustrator James Thurber. It's called Mr. Maloney's Ginsburg, and the first paragraph gives you a sense of the jocular approach. At the dog show, we gathered that styles haven't changed much. Dachshunds are appreciably on the up, deserve to be too in our estimation. Boston Terriers still enjoy a kind of broad-scale national popularity that even the fashionable wire hairs and scotties and the genteel cockers haven't caught up to. There were two new breeds, border terriers, which are about the size of a cairn, with blunt faces and no very distinguishing features, and Rottweilers, big black and tan animals advertised as watchmen and children's playmates. By far the best noisemakers were the Scots, who had more to say than any three other breeds. And there was this gentle Sally from the magazine's issue of February 22nd, 1947. The dog show is the only place I know where you can watch a lady go down on her knees in public to show off the good points of a dog, thus obliterating her own. Classes varied, as did judging conventions. Entered dogs were often shown by their owners until the drafting of Kennelstaff for this purpose resulted in the evolution of the professional handler, and the prize that everyone now sets their heart on, best in show, wasn't established until 1907. This dual identity is the Westminster Legacy, a premier showcase for purpose-bred dogs and a public-facing cultural icon. Over time, the show has evolved to support all its dimensions.

SPEAKER_25 10:38

It's always been a dog show unlike any other in the world. It is a legacy brand. It's history, its foundation, its traditions. That's Donald Sturr's again.

SPEAKER_22 10:50

Much of that history has been made at Madison Square Garden. There were, in fact, four incarnations of the space, beginning with P. T. Barnum's. The second on the same site was designed by the brilliant architect Stanford White, who was also famously profligate and was killed by a cuckolded husband on the roof of his own creation. The original site at 26th in Madison is now the home of the New York Life Building, an elegant Gothic revival edifice that overlooks Madison Square Park. It is the only reminder of former glories. But illustrations of several of the earlier incarnations of Madison Square Garden exist. A current show at the American Kennel Club's Museum of the Dog, in honor of Westminster's 150th, celebrates the life of a show dog.

SPEAKER_07 11:37

What I wanted to do, and I didn't even put labels on these, but I wanted to have four iterations of the Madison Square Garden.

SPEAKER_22 11:45

That's Alan Fossil again, the museum's curator. He's standing in front of a printed illustration from Harper's Weekly, purportedly from the first show in 1877, held at Gilmore's Garden.

SPEAKER_07 11:58

You can see all the dogs in their individual wire-sided kennels, and the people wandering through. And no one in the audience from the grandstands, but they're all down on the floor here. You see all sorts of dogs being waiting in their turn.

SPEAKER_22 12:12

The illustration is like a time capsule. Inside the ring, judges and top hats are running their hands over dogs. Just outside, women in elaborate dresses with flounces and ruffles are holding toy dogs. On the far side, every seat is taken, and above it all is a print of sensation.

Media, Icons, And New York’s Spotlight

SPEAKER_22 12:30

Everything is happening all at the same time. That hasn't changed. Westminster made its most abiding home in Madison Square Gardens' fourth and final incarnation, which opened at 33rd between 7th and 8th Avenues in 1969. Westminster is a great story, but it's also a highly encoded subculture with its own characters, rules, vocabularies, settings, and goals, sort of like the stock market. Remember that scene in The Big Short where Margot Robbie floating in a bubble bath with a bottle of champagne explains subprime mortgages, the financial instrument on which the plot hinges?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Basically, Lewis Raineri's mortgage bonds were amazingly profitable for the big banks. They made billions and billions on their 2% fee they got for selling each of these bonds.

SPEAKER_22 13:29

Of course you do. Chances are that if you are listening to this, you are already part of the fancy. But in case you're new to this world, there are some roadmaps. First, if you want a quick overview that doesn't involve a bubble bath, you will hear it in the ritual curtain speech given by the best in-show judge. Each one of them advances towards a hopeful lineup of seven handlers with seven dogs. They are flanked by tuxedo-clad escorts, trailing the club's hallmark vibrant purple and gold rosettes. Each judge thanks the group judges for bringing them seven exceptional dogs, the breed judges who preceded them, and the breeders' owners, handlers, and groomers who have created them and turned them out to perfection. This speech reflects both an understanding of the long road that leads to the best in show moment and the vital role of dogs and our love of them. Variants of this message have been spoken by many best in show judges. It's the fancy's equivalent of the heartfelt words that are directed in graver circumstances at soldiers and first responders. We thank you for your service. And lastly, each judge thanks the dogs, not just the champions before them, but all dogs.

SPEAKER_10 14:42

Without a doubt, the entire sport of dogs is grateful to the Westminster Kennel Club members and their staff for persevering through troubled times to bring us out to this gorgeous estate and create this show for the ages. Mixed breeds and purebreds. They're all pets. Now, every pet may not be a show dog, but be assured every show dog is a pet.

SPEAKER_22 16:17

Basically, this speech is a blueprint of the show's competitive infrastructure, one that supports exhibiting the best of the American Kennel Club's recognized breeds and varieties. These dogs used to be called purebred, but the culture has shifted to the less elitist, purpose bred. I think that's being responsive to culture shifts. That's Westminster President Don Sturze again.

SPEAKER_25 16:41

And I think that also captures more of the intent and the personal investment on the part of breeders. There is purpose in what they're doing. There's a purpose in the decisions they make. Different breeds of dogs have different purposes and breeding with that in mind. It's something that is not peculiar to Westminster. I think the sport in general has leaned into that notion of a reference to purpose-bred dogs.

SPEAKER_22 17:08

What makes the celebration of the purpose-bred dog so important? Isn't it still elitism in our egalitarian society? Or is it the opposite? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, reflected in the ability to be allowed to do the thing you and your dogs do best. Don Sturs believes it's the latter.

SPEAKER_25 17:28

For so long, you know, people would refer to Westminster as an elitist event. And when I came on board, I corrected that by saying that I don't see it as an elitist event. I see it as an elite event, meaning it's the top dogs in the world. It's an all-champion event. It's dogs competing from everywhere. But it's something that everyone is welcome to participate in and everyone is welcome to enjoy. When I look at Westminster's history in the context of the greater culture, I think you see a parallel. And as the general population was shifting and things were changing in society, I think that the event was very mindful of the importance of evolving and staying staying in line and sometimes staying ahead of where things are going culturally.

SPEAKER_22 18:31

A glance at today's breed rings will show a reassuring mix reflective of the general population. Sturz himself is the club's first openly gay official.

SPEAKER_25 18:41

I was very fortunate to grow up in a sport that was always inclusive

Elite Not Elitist: Purpose-Bred Debate

SPEAKER_25 18:45

in that way, you know, and welcoming people from lots of different socioeconomic backgrounds and different uh you know racial, ethnic, gender, age. We really kind of cross all of the strata. And I think the sport you know continues to be that way for people, and it and it continues to evolve, you know, as far as its inclusivity and its representation. And I will say that for me, that has been one of the cornerstones of my vision.

SPEAKER_22 19:19

When you come to think about it, diversity is at the very heart of the fancy. It's the celebration of the many manifestations of dog, each suited to a different purpose, each vivid and unique. Over 200 recognized breeds and varieties. Once a breed has been recognized by the American Kennel Club, dogs begin on the show circuit, racking up championship points that will make them eligible for Westminster. The new breed for 2026 is the Danish Swedish farm dog, with 12 entries competing in the working group. Dog shows, like the United States, are essentially A celebration of differences coming together to create a common culture. It was something that came to fascinate Dogland author Tommy Tomlinson during the several years he spent on the circuit and witnessing the show.

SPEAKER_04 20:12

The dog itself, as an invention, maybe the greatest human invention. We created something that at first was an incredible tool, a source of labor. Dogs could pull things that we couldn't, they could catch things that we couldn't, they could protect us as we moved from a nomadic society to a agricultural society to an urban society. They were with us every step of the way. And today they are our companions and friends and sort of unofficial therapists in a way that people thousands of years ago probably could not have imagined.

SPEAKER_22 20:51

And Westminster is a point on the map of history that connects those overlapping perceptions. First, there's its identity as the most demanding confirmation event in the country. Entry is limited to 2,500 dogs, a little over twice the number with which the show began its history. There are pre-entry invitations for top performing dogs in each breed, and for each breed's national specialty winner. Then there's a lottery for the remaining slots. Westminster likes its rituals. The exhibitor packet is purple, and the lottery winners are notified by mail with a golden ticket. Once you get past the math and the element of chance, in theory the show is a meritocracy. All that's needed is a great dog and the will to win. And its egalitarian spirit is evident in the breadth of the community. The show is beyond category, a phrase used to describe the brilliant jazz musician Duke Ellington. It's all at once a destination, a goal, a prize, a dream. It's less a venue than a cosmos, not only a competition, but a culture. And, as Sturz says, one that is elite, not elitist. And in a pleasant contrast to much of the society today and in the past, the fancy is a world in which only the dogs have status. You might encounter someone like Maltese breeder, owner handler Linda Augustine.

SPEAKER_06 22:16

It was approximately 1996. I was a mail carrier at the time, and I had to go to a very affluent neighborhood, and I had to go to the door to have a customer sign for a piece of mail. And when I did, I just saw a glimpse of this most beautiful creature I'd ever seen in my life. I had no idea what species it was, but it was I fell in love with it. And after we did our business and I had the woman sign for her letter, I said to her, What was that that was just at the door? And she said, A Maltese. And again, I knew nothing about maltese. And I said to her, Well, what's a Maltese? And she said to me, A dog. But I knew at that moment that I had to have one. To this day, just before I walk into the ring, I still get butterflies.

SPEAKER_22 23:27

Or someone like Lifestyle Guru Martha Stewart, who has helped to establish a line of champion chow chows. Stewart showed her dog Gegnis Khan to a best to breed in 2012. And you can hear her talking about his stroke points with a show correspondent.

SPEAKER_23 23:42

I've had lots of chow chows, and this guy, for some reason, is just perfect. He has all the confirmation traits of a good, well-bred chow. He has a personality of a teddy bear.

SPEAKER_22 23:55

And but it can take significant resources to campaign a top show dog, and there are often prominent and affluent backers behind the scenes, sometimes alone and sometimes as part of syndicates. This is an increasingly common component of sports that require a lot of resources, such as racing thoroughbreds or yachts. One member of this important group is Ellen Charles, the granddaughter of socialite philanthropist and businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post. Post was born in 1887, in the twilight of the Gilded Age, and died at the cusp of second-wave feminism. In an interview with Canine Chronicle in 2022, Charles said that she had a judge's license, but realized that that role wasn't for her. Instead, on what she called a fateful evening, she approached Karen Lafrac and Handler Wernell Samet about sponsoring the poodles they were campaigning. That was the beginning of a tradition of support and a succession of top dogs that has included the winners of two groups in 2013, the American Foxhound

Merit, Rituals, And The Westminster Ecosystem

SPEAKER_22 25:00

Jewel and the Bichon Frise Honor. It's exciting if you like to win, Charles observed. I like to win. That's journalist Tommy Tomlinson again. He's the latest among writers and artists who over the years have been attracted to the vibrant subculture of the fancy, eager to both celebrate and interrogate its rituals and its infrastructure. We've already savored a little of William Stiefle's stunning tribute, The Dog Show. Jane and Michael Stern contributed Dog Eat Dog, a very human book about dogs and dog shows. Writer and broadcaster Roger Karras, who will surface later in this narrative, published Going for the Blue inside the world of show dogs and dog shows. And of course, there's Christopher Guest's mockumentary Best in Show, which incidentally featured real show dogs partnering with the film stars.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Live from Philadelphia, it's the 125th annual Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. 3,000 dogs competing for Best in Show. He went after her like she's made out of ham.

SPEAKER_22 26:47

Tomlinson, author of Dogland, is a genial and funny writer reminiscent of Southern humorist Roy Blunt, who once observed that if dogs ran dog shows, the criteria would be different, with enthusiastic canine judges calling out, That dog stinks, bring that dog up here. Tomlinson was a little curious about the return on investment.

SPEAKER_04 27:09

Everybody who spends tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of hours of dog shows, there's just not the prize money involved to pay off that debt. And so I keep wondering why do you do it? One way to think about it is if you think about these dogs as pieces of art. Nobody else in the world has that particular dog that you have you have a unique creator.

SPEAKER_22 27:36

This analogy allows us to understand show dogs in two ways, as celebrations of form and as examples of competitive excellence. And these pieces of art are transported all over the country by the road warriors of the fancy, professional handlers. Each year they spend hundreds of hours and thousands of miles on the road, but with the right partner, it's worth it. A good handler looks like one half of a dance team, an extension of their dog. And the stages of presentation are like choreography, a part d'oeuvre suggesting an invisible line that links the two, the circuit around the ring, the down and back, the stack. The effect is especially remarkable when you consider that one half of the partnership may have a very different perception of the moment. The win is always a touching testimony to a partnership. Handler Gabriel Rangell, one of whose three Westminster champions was an opinionated Scotty named Sadie, said he thought of it as a marriage.

SPEAKER_12 28:47

Today the best in show for the Westminster Kennold's club is the Newfoundland. He was whooping earlier. He's whooping as a champion now.

SPEAKER_22 29:02

In 2004, Michelle Scott won Westminster with an exuberant Newfoundland Josh, who was bred by the club's late show chairman David Helming and his wife Peggy. Now a seasoned handler, Scott is a petite woman who grew up with Bernese mountain dogs and often handles larger breeds in the sporting and working groups. But she says the size disparity doesn't matter. It's the quality of the relationship and creating a safe space for the dog.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

The year prior, it was hard for him with the spotlights moving and he was a little uncomfortable, and we worked hard. You know, we use an animal communicator, we worked with different experiences for him because as a unit, his owners, myself, we wanted to be sure he walked in that ring that night and felt comfortable, like understanding what was going to happen. And so it all came together, and I think he was super proud of himself, like he did it. It's a big gentle breed, and they're sort of like, you know, the lion looking for courage type thing. And he depended and relied on me, and we got through it beautifully, and he he definitely was super proud of himself.

SPEAKER_22 30:08

So much so that once the win was announced, Josh started towing Scott gleefully around the ring. The following year, she was back on the Best and Show podium with a very different dog, German short-haired pointer Carly. With Carly, Scott created a sort of charged space between herself and the dog. It's not an exaggeration to say that these dogs are highly trained professionals, and part of what makes them exemplary is their relationship to their handlers.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

And she had that extra little thing about her to start, but we did connect, and it's something you can't explain. That connection was there, and and yes, she was my dance partner.

SPEAKER_22 30:48

Despite these triumphs, the work was still grueling, and Scott was tempted to leave the field.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

Josh and Carly and my whims at Westminster obviously were huge highlights, but it almost became a point then I thought I wanted to go more into chiropractic care. Not sure that I wanted to be a handler professionally in terms of the long hours, drives, doing it by myself. It just seemed overwhelming and a lot. And then I met Michael.

SPEAKER_22 31:17

Michael Scott, Michelle's husband, is also a top handler.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

And so again, it took a life on of its own, and I became a professional handler.

SPEAKER_22 31:28

Many professional handlers grow up in the fancy, as the children of handlers and or as participants in the American Kennel Club's junior showmanship program. Michelle Scott's mother, Lillian, was named

Handlers, Partnerships, And Winning Moments

SPEAKER_22 31:40

Breeder of the Year in 2009. But Ernesto Laura, who won Westminster in 2013 with Affenpincher Banana Joe, says his career was a series of happy accidents. He rescued a renegade Airedale from the street when he was a teen, and this led to working with a family that bred and trained terriers.

SPEAKER_17 31:59

And so next thing I know I said, how do I do these better? So well, first of all, you have to learn how to train these dogs and then you come on the weekend and then I teach you. And so that's what happened. I learned to do that. I turned down my first dog, and then after a few months, she started to tell me how to train the dog and all the pieces she knows, and show me the difference on the between the different categories. And then you know the nice show the dog, and they took me to my first dog show, and uh the rest is history.

SPEAKER_22 32:29

Lara's friendship with Gabriel Rangel led to an apprenticeship with one of the most respected handlers in the field, Peter Green. And it is from Green that Lara learned the perfect approach for creating a partnership with an animal and for bringing out the best in them.

SPEAKER_17 32:44

A lot of it is just giving your time to them and hoping that you know you you know because it's just like a friendship. You know, when you do somebody or you work with somebody, and the approach we have is to try to make the dog have a good time.

SPEAKER_22 33:06

But Banana Joe, an irrepressible monkey dog bred in the Netherlands, was exceptional.

SPEAKER_17 33:12

They're mighty. They're mighty. Banana Joe!

SPEAKER_22 33:25

Anyone who witnessed the pair's best in show win will remember the striking physical contrast. Lara is over six feet. Joe weighed three pounds but didn't know it. The two seem to be private in public, one of the hallmarks of a great performance. The Nobel Prize-winning Turkish writer Orhan Parmuk observed that dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen. Lara does.

SPEAKER_17 33:51

When we finished, he was the last dog to move in the line because it's a small list. And I said to him, You did so well that you could win this. His performance was perfect. He could have gone around and begin two times more or three times with no problem. He was that kind of dog. But uh so when the judge pointed at us, uh I just said thank you and uh pick him up.

SPEAKER_22 34:13

It's nearly 15 years later, and Lara still remembers this moment vividly, and is still on the road.

SPEAKER_17 34:20

I just end up doing this because I love it so much.

SPEAKER_22 34:24

Scott and Lara modestly describe their successes as good fortune, the right dogs at the right time, as well as hard work. And as a group, handlers are emotionally generous. At the end of Best in Show Judging before the pomp and the media envelop the winners, there is a sort of group hug moment.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Michelle Scott, as we all have great respect for one another for the hard work uh put in, but also the passion and emotion. You're dealing with an animal, with another being, and it's not it's not just about you, it's a team effort, you and your dog, and I just I think we respect each other a lot for it, and we genuinely are happy for when it's someone else's turn to do great things.

SPEAKER_22 35:09

And those great things can now be witnessed by millions. Via network television, Fox Sports is the club's broadcast partner, and more recently, the various streaming platforms and social media sites bring Westminster into homes all over the world. And homes all over the world got to hear Pat Trotter say that every show dog is a pet. It was a declaration that speaks to the heart of the show's mission. Because every breed is potentially a pet, one of the key functions of the show is making a connection between the general public at the edge of their seats at Madison Square Garden, or sitting at home with their own dog or dogs, and the spectacle before them. Donald Sturz thinks about this a lot.

SPEAKER_25 35:55

I think that's an essential part of what we do. Education is part of our mission, and I think it's also part of our responsibility with how we represent the sport, how we represent purpose-bred dogs.

SPEAKER_22 36:06

A crucial link in this chain is the live show announcer.

SPEAKER_13 36:10

The FB has been a recognizable breed since approximately 4000 BC. In its native land of Afghanistan, it was the hunting dog of the royal family, a swift sighthound.

SPEAKER_22 36:21

Roger Karras, an author, animal welfare advocate and broadcast personality, was Westminster's voice from 1976 to 2000. A Southern gentleman with a wry turn of phrase, he delivered the gently humorous short descriptions of groups and breeds with Panache. He was succeeded by Michael Lefre, who will be the announcer for this anniversary year. Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole, Karas observed. The job of the In Arena announcer is to share some of the many ways they do.

SPEAKER_08 36:55

Give me a head with hair. Long, beautiful hair.

SPEAKER_22 36:59

Why are sighthounds long and thin and corgi short and compact? Why are beagles so driven and mastiffs so laid back? To help us understand this, first there is a description of each group, as determined by the American Kennel Club, the fancies adjudicating body. It established the first five, Sporting, Working Terrier, Toy and Non-Sporting, in 1924. The Hound Group followed in 1930, and the Herding Group in 1983. Over the show's two days, every dog breed will have its day, and the winners will be judged in their respective groups in the evenings. Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding on Monday, and Sporting Working Terrier and the Junior Showmanship Finals on Tuesday. Each breed within a group is described as its representative comes before the judge.

SPEAKER_13 37:57

An eminently trainable dog, their athleticism and skill led them to succeed in a wide range of endeavors from search and rescue to obedience, agility, and flyball events. This is Australian Shepherd, number 24.

SPEAKER_22 38:11

Anonymity is preserved in this exchange. The judge, each group has its own, is meeting only a succession of dogs. The television viewer and the live audience get a bit more information. The dog's call name and home state. But why should the general public still care about the history of purpose bred dogs if we are pet prospect owners? Unless we operate in one of the practical spheres in which they function, sheep herding, running the ididorod, lion hunting on the velt, aren't we more likely to wonder if they shed? One answer is that these dogs' pasts and their functions help to shape their characters. Westminster and its public voices, Roger Carras and his successors, and the Kennel Club staff who write the descriptions, put a unique stamp on breed introductions. They manage to combine useful information about a dog's origins and original purpose with a nod at how that plays out in today's potential companion animal, even if they were bred to kill things or be wary of strangers. More often than not, you'll hear something like this.

SPEAKER_13 39:15

The German shepherd dog is a highly intelligent, exceptional family dog who enjoys the endeavors of its owners. Originally bred as a sheep herding and protection dog in Germany. Today it is competitive in herding, obedience, agility, and tracking. A very successful and both a service dog and a policeman's best friend and protector. This is German Shepherd Dog, number 20.

SPEAKER_22 39:42

And if you're intrigued on the night, you can do further research after the fact. Westminster has a breed founder directory on its website, and the American Kennel Club hosts a hands on Meet the Breeds event at the Javit Center each year. And then for the true nerd, expert on air content. Commentary adds another dimension, letting the viewer in on what the judge is looking for. Before becoming Westminster's president, Donald Sturz, a former Best in Show

Photos, Parties, And City Traditions

SPEAKER_22 40:10

judge, was one of its commentators. Here he is during the 2021 show.

SPEAKER_25 40:20

A lot comes down to that visceral visceral reaction. Which one makes the hair stand up on your arms? You know, which one makes you smile.

SPEAKER_22 40:28

Sturs thinks sharing these insider perceptions with the audience is added value.

SPEAKER_15 41:01

And you know, Wasabi is okay, just the short legs. By the way, if Wasabi wins, we're all going to Nobu after this, okay?

SPEAKER_22 41:08

He's definitely not best in show's Buck Laughlin, as embodied by actor Fred Willard.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

That's my favorite, the miniature schnauzer. You'd think they'd want to breed him bigger, wouldn't you, like grapefruits or watermelons.

SPEAKER_22 41:21

Meyer's other function seems to be bringing unbridled glee to the best in show moment.

SPEAKER_15 41:26

Money the magnificent, you're 20, 25, best in show, the giant schnauzer.

SPEAKER_22 41:34

So the club has many ways to enrich the experience for the public, but that is only one of its mandates. Here's Don Sturz again.

SPEAKER_25 41:43

We think in terms of the experience, in that there's obviously the spectator experience, there's the exhibitor and dog experience, which for me is the most important. There's the member experience, there's the sponsor experience, there's the judge experience. All of those are different.

SPEAKER_22 42:00

So what shapes the exhibitor and dog experience? Inside the show itself, there are many protocols and rituals enveloping the participants, two and four-legged.

SPEAKER_21 42:11

All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.

SPEAKER_22 42:14

One of these is that dogs who are placed in their breed rings wait patiently to have their photographs taken with the anointing judge. Why? Because show dogs maintain carefully managed public persona outside the ring. In advertisements in magazines like Canine Chronicle and Show Site, on the websites of their breeders and handlers, and on their own social media platforms. For nearly 50 years, the primary source of these photos has been John Ashby. Ashby looks like someone sent over by a central casting to play the photographer. He wears a loose jacket with plenty of pockets and a baseball cap. His cameras are strung around his neck. And to talk to, he's equal parts old school and new. He's been shooting at Westminster since 1977. When the Best in Show winner is announced, a tsunami of photographers is unleashed in the ring. They are getting the money shots for local and national press, and are allowed as much time as they need to get that perfect pose. Rule of thumb: big dogs sprawl on the best in show podium, small dogs pose in the trophy. Ashby, on the other hand, has just minutes before a ring is turned over to the next class. And he must have the patience of a saint, because despite the narrow time frame, classes and rings are on a strict schedule. Each handler wants the very best picture of their dog.

SPEAKER_16 43:50

When they finish the breed, you jump right in to take the pictures. You only have a few minutes to to get a picture of each dog that wants them, and you just know the breeds and you know how you're gonna set up before you even get to the ring. When you try to get help uh handlers' assistants or owners or something to help you with uh shooting dogs that are not cooperative, you throw the quick toys, you do what you can, and you can't always get them all right. So that's the way it is.

SPEAKER_22 44:17

Despite the period, look, Ashby's operation is all digital, and the owners and handlers can now pick up and pay for the images they want online. And despite the frenzy, what he remembers is the opportunities, and one special dog, 1979's best in show winner champion Oak Tree's Irish Docrat, or Dugan, handled by Bill Trainer.

SPEAKER_16 44:38

Yeah, the uh aristocrat, the uh Irish water spaniel that Bill Trainer used to show, I love shooting that dog, always a pretty dog. Uh but there's a lot of dogs all kinds through the years that have been really great dogs.

SPEAKER_22 44:51

That was veteran photographer John Ashby. And maybe Dugan was a descendant of that long-ago water spaniel in the Harper's illustration, Mouthing the Duck. And if that same fictitious person from Central Casting was asked to send over Ashby's complete opposite, you might wind up with Lisa Croft Elliot, who's been shooting the show for over 25 years. Tall and elegant with a shot of white through her hair, Imagine David Lynch crossed with Liza Minelli, she has a wide range of clients whose dogs are featured regularly in full page ads, and she displays her subject in a variety of natural settings, or with lighting and composition that suggest art films. If Ashby is Westminster's Ouija, Croft Elliot is its Avidon. And then there are the parties. Pre-show parties, some of them corporate, others part of a tradition of gaiety and lavishness that harks back to the show's earliest days. Bill Secor's annual gallery show, which involved the entire Westminster community cramming into an elevator the size of a dumbwaiter. Iris Love's legendary events at Tavern on the Green were historically themed and featured her dachshunds dressed as gladiators or dinosaurs, all residents of the French quarter. Karen Lefrac, Patricia Hurst, Missy Galloway, and Ellen Charles host an annual fete, and Janet York welcomed guests to her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel themed duplex. After the show, the club hosts a best in show party for members and judges, and the next day, after a round of early morning talk shows, the winning pair are treated to lunch at a leading restaurant. For many years it was the iconic theater district restaurant Sardi's, but in recent years Westminster's Lunch of Champions has been served at trendy venues like Daniel Belude's Bar Balude and Tavern on the Green. Google Celebratory Lunch and you'll get the menus. Not the humans, the dogs. Usually it's steak. But that's for the Tofts. Right after the show, there's a photo up in the ring and the press conference with the winning handler. Then, like war correspondents at the front, the canine press and larger community repair to local hotel bars, where eventually exhausted exhibitors, their charges crated and bedded down, show up too. The city is a palimcest, and Westminster's laird history includes not only the competition venues, but also the midtown hotels, which welcome this unique community for three days a year. For many years, the Hotel Pennsylvania, like Madison Square Garden 2, designed by McKim Meade and White, hosted many of the competitors. It towered 22 stories above the final incarnation of Madison Square Garden at 33rd and 7th. The foyer filled

Pandemic Exile And Reinvention

SPEAKER_22 47:50

up with crates, startled non-fancy guests, could find themselves riding the elevator with a Borzoi or a Great Dane, a sight that prompted a New Yorker cover. Staffer Jerry Graymick styled himself the Doggy Concierge and garnered a good deal of press. Here he is featured on the Washington Post's YouTube channel.

SPEAKER_24 48:09

I'm Jerry Greyck. I am the doggy concierge in charge of Pooch Relations at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. Basically, my job is to welcome our four-legged guests as well as our two-legged guests for the Westminster Orch Show, hand out dog cookies. We all love cookies. Brody, I love cookies too. Let's have cookies together.

SPEAKER_22 48:28

And also to handle any paparazzi interviews. When the Pennsylvania was demolished in 2023, the New York Times published what amounts to an obituary, noting its slow decline in the hands of indifferent corporate owners. So even before it was raised, the nearby New Yorker Hotel had become a show destination. Michelle Scott loves the New Yorker.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

Funny story, a few years ago we went in for a concert and we stayed there, and the same Bellman that used to help with the dog show was there and the big hug and he remembered us. And they love the dog show. They love having the dogs and the dog people come and it was like being home.

SPEAKER_22 49:08

It's one of the other things that distinguishes Westminster from the many shows handlers and their chargers attend each year. Most are held in convention centers and parks, exhibition halls and tents. And for most, handlers pull up in their vans and trailers. But for Westminster, they are putting on the writs, even if it's not in the writs. And they get to experience the city that never sleeps. And neither do they.

SPEAKER_11 49:33

I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep.

SPEAKER_22 49:40

All of this reminds us that the show isn't just an event, but a community, one that from its earliest days was firmly embedded in New York City. Until suddenly it wasn't, until it became a community in exile.

SPEAKER_13 49:55

The best in show goes to the standard poodle. Yes!

SPEAKER_22 49:59

February 12th, 2020. Black Standard Poodle SIBA is named Best in Show by Judge Robert H. Slay.

SPEAKER_26 50:09

In a highly unusual step, the CDC will be screening passengers at three airports for a mysterious new virus.

SPEAKER_20 50:17

More than 200 now dead and nearly 10,000 confirmed cases, fears continue to grow over the coronavirus.

SPEAKER_03 50:25

The United States has declared a public health emergency because of the coronavirus. Gatherings must be limited to no more than 250 people.

SPEAKER_22 50:35

But already information was flooding in from everywhere about the global spread of COVID-19. And in October of 2020, the club announced that it was moving the show to the Lindhurst Estate in Terrytown, where it would be held in June to facilitate an open-air competition with social distancing. The show has soldiered on through many of the world's calamities, providing not only continuity but active support. There has been support and recognition for war dogs and their handlers, and for therapy programs, a heart-rending tribute to the search and rescue dogs of 9-11.

SPEAKER_11 51:11

We'd like to take a few moments to pay tribute to some very special people and their partners.

SPEAKER_22 51:17

And more recently, with the addition of the Masters Agility Championship in 2014, a moment in the spotlight for the winner, who was sometimes a mixed breed, tactfully dubbed All-American Dog. And some support has happened quietly behind the scenes. Former Chairman Tom Bradley started take the lead to help members of the community who were suffering from AIDS and were faced with catastrophic medical expenses. But the pandemic was different, and Donald Stears became a patriarch who had to lead his family out of Egypt.

SPEAKER_25 51:50

Given the circumstances, that was one of the driving forces was okay, what do we do? Do we go back to Lindhurst that first year and just recreate the dog shows of the past, say like the Westchester Kennel Club, Tuxedo Cannel Club that were at Lyndhurst, you know, for many years? Do we just go and use that formula and do that dog show? Or do we do Westminster at Lyndhurst? The magic of Westminster is when you arrive and when you enter the Westminster dog show, you should feel like you're in another world. You're in a magical place.

SPEAKER_22 52:28

The show did an incredible job of conjuring up that golden purple magic. First at Lindhurst, an estate built by successful financiers from the city, and last owned by Jay Gould, who bought it in 1880. So Westminster briefly returned to its Gilded Age roots. Under sunny skies, breed exhibitors sported boaters, floating skirts, and garden party hats, and posed their dogs in front of the castle-like mansion. Two years later, the show embraced a different identity, moving to the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. As a fully equipped sports complex, it's the site of the U.S. Open, it had a bit more of the plug-and-play features of the garden. Throughout all of this migration, the unflappable fancy, that community honored by Pat Trotter, exemplified the much-quoted Four Rules of Life: Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, don't be attached to the results. Well, maybe not that fourth point. And the show in exile delivered some of its finest best-in-show moments. 2021's winner David Fitzpatrick putting his hand over his heart in astonishment. Kaz Osaka, who triumphed with miniature poodle Sage in 2024, folding himself over her back. PBGV Buddy Holly's breeder Gavin Robertson betting on the 2023 outcome and getting on a plane from London. And handler Janice Hayes saying after that win that at least people would stop asking her if her dog's breed was called peanut butter and jelly.

SPEAKER_19 54:05

What is gonna be great is when you say PBGB, people aren't gonna look at you like you have lost your mind. Or they're like peanut butter and jelly dogs.

SPEAKER_22 54:14

But getting back to the garden was essential, not only because it was part of Westminster's legacy, but because it would restore the one thing for which there are no alternatives, an audience.

SPEAKER_21 54:25

Would you please tell her that you're not really Santa Claus? That there actually is no such person.

SPEAKER_05 54:31

Well, I'm sorry to disagree with you, Mrs. Walker, but not only is there such a person, but here I am to prove it.

SPEAKER_21 54:36

No, no, no. You misunderstand. I want you to tell her the truth. Uh what's your name?

SPEAKER_05 54:41

Chris Kringle, I'll bet you're in the first grade.

SPEAKER_21 54:44

Second?

SPEAKER_22 54:45

Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street is a classic Christmas film, released in 1947, that takes place at Macy's department store and incidentally definitively proves the existence of Santa Claus. Note the address, 34th and 6th. But for Donald Stears and the Westminster team, the miracle, whether or not Chris Krengel was involved, was the return of the show to Madison Square Garden at 33rd and 7th after four years of exile.

SPEAKER_25 55:12

I felt the responsibility to do everything I could to bring Westminster home to New York City proper Manhattan, and it's a longtime home of Madison Square Garden. If I was being completely honest, I think

Coming Home: Garden Spectacle And Crowd

SPEAKER_25 55:30

it was more of a commitment to be able to say to everyone that I tried.

SPEAKER_22 55:34

Doing justice to Westminster's Odyssey is the epitome of long story short. Suffice it to say that without much hope, Sturs targeted the only viable space, the Jacob Javitz Center, a multi-level complex at 34th Street and 11th Avenue. The Javits is owned by the state of New York and had a strict policy of guaranteeing only one-year leases. But Sturs had his eye on 2026, and he basically hurled the show's legendary relationship with Madison Square Garden at the Powers That Be and emerged with a two-year contract. And now Westminster is back in all its purple and gold glory. Breed judging at the Javids is purposeful and low-key, a steady hum punctuated by chairs from the various breed rings. There's a display area celebrating past winners, a club shop where you can buy branded wear and gear in you guessed it purple, and pick up an enamel pin in the shape of past best and show winners. Artist Kate Doheny has been making them since 2019. But for the evening group judging and best in show, Westminster creates a 360 spectacle that takes advantage of being housed finely in one of the city's great entertainment venues. When we look around the breed rings, we see a highly wrought professional culture at work, though prose make it look almost casual. And like the transformation in a fairy tale, the two nights at the garden take place in a temporary kingdom, with the lithe and elegant silhouette of the point of sensation everywhere you look.

SPEAKER_25 57:07

Sensation is always everywhere. Frequently I drive my team kind of crazy with that of like, where's sensation? It's two things they know: where's sensation and where's the purple? This is Donald Sturz with his eye on the brand.

SPEAKER_22 57:21

This transformation of the garden is no mean feat. A professional hockey match often precedes the show in the arena, and swapping out ice for Astroturf has to be a challenge, even for the hard-working crews that can be seen everywhere, the men behind the magic. The show always begins with a performance of the national anthem. The club makes it an opportunity to showcase the rich musical talents and musical history of the city. There have been performances by the Harlem Gospel Choir, the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem, and featured soloists have included Isabel Leonard, Angel Blue, Eileen Perez, and Ronan Heinen. Because of the television contract with Fox Sports, there is a longish interlude between the two halves of the show, and this has created an opportunity for additional performances, usually seen from Broadway musicals, including in Transit, Matilda and Jersey Boys. In 2025, it was the stars of the Tony Award-winning Maybe Happy Ending, which seems entirely appropriate.

SPEAKER_08 58:31

New York set the perfect mood on the day we met.

SPEAKER_19 58:36

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_08 58:37

I know the patter of rain and somewhere a jazz quartet.

SPEAKER_19 58:44

They were playing in the rain. They were inside. So we were inside.

SPEAKER_08 58:46

We were outside. My umbrella could handle to. I even kept your shoulder dry. And since we both were shy, we barely spoke at all.

SPEAKER_22 59:03

Following the opening numbers, there's a brief summary of the judging order and protocols, and an all-important message for the audience. We highly encourage you to cheer on your favorites. And they will. This crowd brings out one ingredient that could not be replicated anywhere else: New York City style Hutzpah. The Westminster audience is loud, enthusiastic, and opinionated, offering cheers and razzes in equal measure. Jason Hoke, the veteran judge who provided some of the on-air commentary at the 2025 show, had this to say.

SPEAKER_14 59:38

And here comes New York City at its best, cheering out the dogs they want to see win. I love this part. We expect nothing less.

SPEAKER_22 59:47

The return to New York also means that the show resumes its mantle as a media darling. It's sometimes compared to Brigadoon, the enchanted Scottish village in the musical of the same name. To the public, it magically appears and then just as suddenly disappears. In the film, love is what brings it back. Who's to say that's not the case here? And for many years, Westminster was and is again adjacent to the New York Spring Fashion Week, prompting the idea that it is a fashion show for dogs. There's something in this. The best runway models, like the best handlers, have a kind of protean neutrality. It is the clothes, or in Westminster's case, the dogs, that matter. At the end of the 2025 show, it was Bestin Show Judge Patricia Nichol's turn to give the curtain speech.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:56

I've always loved all the history and tradition that is Westminster. And I'm sure everyone here tonight is as happy as I am for Westminster to be back in Manhattan.

SPEAKER_22 1:01:30

And it was Katie Bernadette's turn to triumph with Monty the Giant Schnauzer. This is one of the best moments at any show, whether you are watching it from the bleachers or at home, because in that moment it is clear that the show is not just about victory, it's about love. You can hear this in Patricia Charter's speech from 2021, in the exuberant, incohate responses of handlers asked to sum up their feelings for the media, and most of all in the moment right after their victories. Kaz Hosaka with Sage, Ernesto Lara holding up tiny banana joe as if he were the trophy. And the dogs feel it too. Looking back at the tape, the 2025 winner Monty, the consummate show dog, doesn't seem to know what to do for his weeping partner. Physically, these dogs are at the end of an elegant show lead. Mentally, they are at the end of a thin, taut electric current that breaks as soon as the judge points to them. But let's not forget how they got there. In this moment, let's return to Pat Trotter, who called out the judges who have sent her these dogs. It's one of the strengths of the fancy that its judges have all come up through the ranks, and each year range from seasoned pros, former handlers, and established breeders, to judges with their junior showmanship years, not far behind them. They come from all across the country and abroad. It's a reminder that Westminster is a radiant planet in a constellation of global dogd. Donald Stears himself was the best in Show Judge in 2022, awarding the prize to Bloodhound Trumpet. For this important anniversary year, he's drawing from his deep bench.

SPEAKER_25 1:03:14

So going into creating the judging panel for the 150th, I thought that it was really

Education, Breeds, And Public Connection

SPEAKER_25 1:03:20

important that we continue to tell stories. That's been a thread for us, you know, these last few years is this notion of telling stories. And so I leaned into obviously bringing, you know, some of our more frequent judges back, right, who have a history there, some of our former best in show judges, our group judges, our breed level judges. I also wanted to bring in some new judges as kind of a nod to the future, right, because that's what we want to do. And representation was definitely a consideration for me as well as it's been in other years.

SPEAKER_22 1:03:52

And for his best in show judge, well, who had the best story?

SPEAKER_25 1:03:56

And in thinking about who to have do best in show, it struck me that what better story for the best in show judge for the 150th event than for it to be a breeder owner handler who has had tremendous success at Westminster, you know, who's won the toy group there many, many times, who's gone reserve best in show there, and who's gone best in show there twice, who's never judged at Westminster before.

SPEAKER_10 1:04:27

And tonight's best in show to the peak in the east.

SPEAKER_15 1:04:31

Whoa! David Fitzpatrick!

SPEAKER_25 1:04:34

I just thought, what a great story, right? A real Cinderella story, you know, that no one can claim that profile except David.

SPEAKER_22 1:04:43

Characteristically, Fitzpatrick is thrilled but modest and reveals that Stirs set him up.

SPEAKER_14 1:04:49

I got this phone call from Don, and he says, This is official Westminster Kennel Club business. I thought, oh, okay. He said, We will like you like you to judge. It's not a very big assignment. He said there's usually just seven dogs. And I thought, you know, oh, it's gonna be Pekineese. I thought, okay, that's nice. You know, I know Pekinees like the back of my hand. Then he said something, you know, we'd like you to judge best in show.

SPEAKER_22 1:05:18

I think I said, Are you sure? The best in show judge is always sequestered, so he or she has no idea how the judging has gone or who will be before him in the ring. It is a polite fiction that the dogs themselves will be unknown to him. The top tier of show dogs campaign actively throughout the year, and are supported by impressive ad campaigns with those full-color photos we heard about earlier.

SPEAKER_14 1:05:42

You're gonna walk in there and there might be some old friends, you know, dog friend doggy, I'm calling the dogs' friends, you know, in the ring that you've known from the past, but there also might be some new and exciting, you know, a dog that made his way through.

SPEAKER_22 1:05:56

However, what is not fiction is the judge's sense of honor and obligation.

SPEAKER_14 1:06:01

In your mind, you have an idea of the perfect dog, you know, whether it be an Irish setter, Scottish deerhound, Doberman picture, you know, fox terrier, Picanese, Brutal, German Shepherd, and thinking, you know, there's there's usually a couple dogs that might come close to that ideal image in your mind of what a great dog in that breed looks like, and also have the proper temperament for the breed and show in the correct manner for the breed. You you just have to be cognizant of all those different things, and and hopefully there's some dog that uh that you're just thrilled to have that you think you know comes close to the standard of perfection, and on the night is having a good night, and not just any night. I'm very cognizant of the fact that this is a historical moment. I feel very proud to be part of the uh long lines of judges that have had the opportunity to do a best in show at Westminster. It's all up to me now. I just have to, you know, stay on two feet and two legs and walk and use my brain.

SPEAKER_22 1:07:21

And then, briefly, there will be only one one great dog. I always think, you know, most great dogs they they earn their wins on the night. When questioned about their choices, judges usually begin by responding conventionally. Their pick was the epitome of its breed. But then they often add something quirky and personal. Burton J. Amada, who crowned Josh in 2004, told the New York Times, If each dog meets its standard, the tiebreaker will be showiness and attitude. When he came in, I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. In 2011, Italian judge Paolo d'Ondina quoted Sir Walter Scott, who called his deer hound maider the most perfect creature of heaven when praising his choice, Scottish Deer Hound Hickory. And a year later, Michael J. Doherty took one look at Banana Joe, three pounds of attitude, and said that he was smitten.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:19

Dogs seem to be these incredible generators of happiness.

SPEAKER_22 1:08:23

Journalist Tommy Tomlinson again.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:36

Is it real?

SPEAKER_22 1:08:38

Perhaps we'll give the last word to John Keats, the romantic poet who wrote in his Ode on a Grecian urn, that beauty is truth, truth beauty. At least once a year. So that's our show. Westminster. There's only one. Maybe. But it's clear from its long history and its many overlapping narratives that the show is many things in one. So maybe more like the voice of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself. The past and present wilt, I have filled them, emptied them, and proceed to fill my next fold of the future. I am large. I contain multitudes. They provided access to the club's substantial collection of documents and resources and answered every question, large and small. If there were a best of category for legacy institutions, Westminster would win hands down. Special thanks to Westminster Kennel Club President Donald Sturs and Director of Communications, Alison Younger. The Canine Chronicle commissioned this work, and I am honored by the Chronicle's faith in me and the support of Tom and Amy Grabe. One purpose of this program was to honor the talent and commitment of the fancy. Most are on the road a good deal of the year, and we are extremely grateful to those who kindly made time to speak with us: Linda Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, Ernesto Lara, and Michelle Scott. Thanks also to those whose past interviews were gold mines of perception. Special thanks to photographer John Ashby. In an audio medium, it is important to honor the nuanced craft of capturing an image. And Alan Fossil, curator at the AKC Museum of the Dog, also helped the piece to come alive visually and added an important historical perspective. Tommy Tomlinson shared the questions and emotions that shaped his thoughtful book Dogland and read from the passage about J.P. Morgan. Music from Thurber's Dogs, written by Peter Shickley and published by Theodore Presser Company, Copyright 1994, is used by permission. All rights reserved. Simon Jones read the historical note about

Judges, Standards, And Storytelling

SPEAKER_22 1:11:00

Westminster's founding and brought period newspaper coverage to life. Dog Show Obedience Contest, Copyright 1947 by E.B. White, originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine, is reused from E.B. White on Dogs, courtesy of White Literary LLC.

unknown 1:11:17

Mr.

SPEAKER_22 1:11:18

Maloney's Ginsburg, Copyright 1931, by E.B. White, originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine, is reused by permission. There's only one was written, produced, and narrated by Sarah Montague. The interview with Donald Sturs was recorded by Brett Tubin. Sound design and mixing by Sam Baer at the Relic Room. And like all Westminster's best in show judges, we wish to thank the dogs. In some ways, the most eloquent performers in this piece