This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/14/westminster-dog-show-best-live
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Westminster Dog Show 2012—Best in Show—live! | Westminster Dog Show 2012—Best in Show—live! |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| English Cocker Spaniel: A beautiful dog with a coat like a silver-back gorilla. | |
| Parti-Color Spaniel: Parti People in the house! This black-and-white Spaniel, Stanley, really worked the crowd. But his hair seemed a little long for a real hunting dog. | |
| ASCOB Cocker Spaniel: ASCOB stands for Any Solid Color Other (Than) Black. And this one is a beauty. | |
| Black Cocker Spaniel: A very popular breed, with Kim Kardashian-like hair extensions, this dog was not expected to win his breed. But here he is. | |
| Clumber Spanlel: Here's what you need to know about this breed—it has webbed feet. Oh, like you're perfect? | |
| Boykin Spaniel: We have another jumper in this guy, which is a new breed for the WKC show. So far, none of the six new breeds for 2012 have won their respective groups. | |
| American Water Spaniel: I'm not sure why a Water Spaniel is named Digger—where exactly is he going to dig?—but this one is lively and the crowd is digging him. | |
| Irish Red and White Setter: Gilbey comes from Wheeler, Wisconsin, and his handler says, "Alright, handsome, let's go!" Way to fire up the dog, coach. But he looks a little distracted as he makes his turn. | |
| Irish Setter: Another American favorite. It looked like they were blindfolding this dog, but the handler was just pulling Emily's ear over her face to show off her elegant neck. But you knew that. | |
| Gordon Setter: This black-and-tan beauty looks a little zaftig to me—but it could just be a thick coat. | |
| English Setter: Well Dazzle is dazzling. What a beautiful greyish dog. I like her chances for being a finalist in this group. And she's having a great season so far. | |
| Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever: Do ducks really need to pay a toll? This fellow has a lot of spirit as well. Boy, the dogs came out pumped up tonight. | |
| Labrador Retriever: Another beloved dog—a black Lab. For 20 years, the Labrador Retriever has been the most popular dog with the American Kennel Club. And this is a very cute one. | |
| Golden Retriever: Well who doesn't love a Golden Retriever? I'll tell you who—the judges at Westminster. A Golden has never won Best in Show. Can Shock pull off a shocker? | |
| Flat-Coated Retriever: Another jumper. this retriever can't stay on the ground—great vertical, too. And he's an old-timer—nine years old. | |
| Curly-Coated Retriever: Uh oh—Bramble is a little too fired up tonight. He is climbing all over his handler. Bad form at a dog show. But his enthusiasm is appreciated by the crowd. | |
| Chesapeake Bay Retriever: As the name implies, this breed loves the water—and the Chessie might be the greatest water dog of them all. This one has a lot of spring in his step tonight. He seems to have brought his Bay Game. | |
| German Wire-Haired Pointer: And we have our first good beard of the evening with Oakley, who has spent a little time in Brazil lately. Perhaps looking for his own canine Gisele? | |
| German Short-Haired Pointer: Considered the SUD—the Sport Utility Dog—this canine can do it all when it comes to hunting. This breed also won Best in Show in 2005. | |
| Pointer: Known for that rigid pose, the Pointer is the symbol of the Westminster Kennel Club. Presumably, Josh, our entry tonight won't pull an MIA at the Super Bowl and point with the wrong digit. | |
| Brittany: First up tonight is a brown-and-white Brittany named Cam, who hails from Arkansas. he's got a great smile. | |
| The Sporting Group: And they're letting the dogs out.... | |
| The Other Top Dog: While the four sporting groups were competing at Madison Square Garden last night, another canine contest was taking place in Los Angeles—the inaugural Golden Collar Awards, http://news-briefs.ew.com/2012/02/14/the-artists-uggie-takes-home-golden-collar/ presented to the dogs who gave the best performances on the small and big screens. | |
| In the spirit of the big winner's movie, I'll remain silent about who won in the film category—but his name rhymes with "Uggie." | |
| Very Hot Dogs: For those who fear Westminster withdrawal symptoms after tonight's competition, may I recommend Josh Dean's superb new book, Show Dog, which goes inside the world of competitive purebreds. You can read an excerpt about the WKC show here, but for those who like their dog stories on the kinkier side, Dean has a hilarious piece on Deadspin that reveals more about the sex life of champion show dogs than you might have wanted to know. Think of it as a shagging dog story. | |
| Preamble: Malachy the Pekingese is just like Mitt Romney—only better groomed. He's the presumptive favorite to win the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show tonight, but this is why we hold competitions. Because you just never know. | Preamble: Malachy the Pekingese is just like Mitt Romney—only better groomed. He's the presumptive favorite to win the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show tonight, but this is why we hold competitions. Because you just never know. |
| During the opening night of Westminster, Malachy (who has 114 Best in Show ribbons but has never won here) was named best in the Toy group, the most competitive category at Westminster, and the sports book at Wynn Las Vegas likes his odds this evening. | |
| Other group winners from last night include the German shepherd Captain Crunch in the Herding group; Cinders, a Wire-Haired Dachshund, in the Hound group; and Spotlights Ruffian, a lovely Dalmatian, in Non-Sporting. (And for those who like rooting underdogs, no Dachshund or Dalmatian has ever been named Best in Show at Westminster.) | |
| But there are more contenders to come tonight, including dogs from the Sporting, Working and Terrier groups. And it's all leading up to Best in Show at the end of the evening, when judge Cindy Vogels will determine who will be America's Dog for 2012. | |
| So pull up your pet and let's watch all the action... |