Raise The Woof – Man’s Best Friend Takes Over Madison Square Garden In Second-Oldest Sporting Competition

The NBA All-Star game cleared out of New York’s landmark Madison Square Garden promptly on Sunday to make way for the true all-stars: the dogs.  Yes, as Valentine’s Day rolls around, so does too the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, this year celebrating its 139^th competition, the second (only to the Kentucky Derby) oldest sporting competition still happening today.  You may say, “Hey Lindsay, I just don’t see how watching women in skirt suits made from my grandmother’s drapes jog around with dogs constitutes a sport.”  But just entertain me for a bit, here.

The very first ever WKC Dog Show was held in May 1877 at Gilmore’s Garden (now Madison Square Garden).  It originated out of a group who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan for drinks (hence the name of the club).  They wanted a way to compare their dogs outside of the field.  That year, known as the First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs (given under the auspices of the WKC) a 139-year tradition began with an amazing 1,201 entrants.  Other than the Derby, it is the only sport that didn’t go on hiatus during the World Wars.  And because of the rich history of dog domestication, it only got stronger as an institution.

I may be the ‘crazy dog lady’ amongst my friends, but I am evidently not the only one who gathers around the T.V. each year to watch this canine spectacle with my best friend: Lucille Bluth the English Setter.  Hundreds of thousands of other people tuned in at to root for their favorite breed, too.  The two-night event does not show the best of breed competitions but does televise each group competition leading up to the Best in Show.  If you’re not like me, that is, a walking dog encyclopedia, you might not understand what the heck I’m saying.  What are group divisions?  Though you’d never ask!

• Sporting Group: These were the original breeds that the WKC began with back in 1877. They are gun dogs bred to assist the hunter, and generally have good energy and friendly dispositions about them (eager to please their master).  The Pointers and Setters point and mark the game, Spaniels flush the birds, and Retrievers bring back the game by land or water.
• Hound Group: Hounds were originally classified as Sporting dogs but were assigned their own group in 1930, as it grew larger. Hounds are hunters that bring down the game or hold it at bay until the hunter arrives.  They are known for their incomparable ability to track scents.
• Working Group: Dogs in this group can best be characterized as giant stuffed teddy bears. In all seriousness, they are typically the largest and strongest of the dogs with the toughest of tasks: guarding livestock, serving as police dogs, and search/rescue animals.
• Terrier Group: These dogs are bred to be low to the ground so that they can fit into compromising places and glide through thick brush in order to hunt rats and other vermin. Their size is not in proportion to their courageousness; these dogs are often as feisty as they are loyal.
• Toy Group: The toy dogs are the smallest of the small, bred as companion animals for their people. They were intentionally bred to resemble some of their larger cousins (i.e. Miniature Pinscher and Doberman Pinscher).
• Non-Sporting Group: The name is somewhat deceiving because all dogs were once either registered as ‘Sporting’ or ‘Non-Sporting,’ but after the other groups took form, the WKC decided that all other dogs which didn’t fit the characteristics of the new group would stay in this group. It’s the doggie grab bag group.
• Herding Group: Back in 1983, the WKC decided to split this group off from the Working Group because there were so many distinct breeds that served their farmer/rancher masters by moving livestock from one place to another.

After all of the titles were won in each group, those seven dogs compete against one another for Best in Show.  This year, a little 15-inch Beagle by the call-name (everyday name) of ‘Miss P’ took the title in a huge underdog (no pun intended) win.  The heavy favorite to take top dog was Matisse the Portuguese Water Spaniel (even Vegas said so).  The barely four-year-old pooch whose eyes always seem to be at half-mast will head for early retirement in British Columbia where she’ll take on motherhood to breed future champions, right after she eats a lot of steak.  You better believe that’s the first and last time I’ll ever link to an Inside Edition story.

The Show has come under fire from animal welfare organizations for various reasons (PETA has repeatedly come out against the perpetuation of breeding for show because they believe it contributes to increased populations in animal shelters and consequentially euthanization of unwanted dogs, for example).  The WKC is aware of these concerns, and instead of taking the Daniel Snyder approach to the problem, has taken steps to include non-purebred dogs into competition (in the agility competition, for example).  And while I can definitely sympathize with those concerns, I think one of the most important things this group does is educate the public about breeds and emphasizes how important it is to do research on different types of dogs before choosing to bring one into your home.  The breeders that I’ve encountered throughout the years aren’t running puppy mills, either.  In most cases, these animals are living better than most humans.  For example, my dog (who was the runt of the litter – all her brothers and sisters were already picked and gone by the time I got to her) spent her days chasing cats, horses and living in her own godforsaken puppy palace on Whidbey Island.  I’m serious, this was no Snoopy doghouse, it was a house house.  It’s safe to say this competition isn’t going anywhere, so I welcome progress in the competition and added support of adoptable dogs.