SkimIt
And now I present for you the only TV show that can make my nine-month-old Welsh Corgi stop barking for three hours straight, the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show! This year's competition offered up its fair share of surprise wins, with "Best in Show" going to the... Pekingese? Oh well, to each his own.
Playing Catch-Up
To recap Monday night's coverage of the dog show, the Wirehaired Dachshund won for the hounds, the Pekingese for the toys, a Dalmatian for the non-sporting group and a German Shepherd named "Captain Crunch" won the herding competition. To be honest, I threw a significant hissy fit when the Welsh Corgi didn't even crack the top four of the herders. Blasphemy!
Working Hard
The Doberman Pinscher won the working group, with "Ricky" the Alaskan Malamute taking third. Gosh darnit if the Malamute isn't one of the most gorgeous dogs on the face of the earth. And the announcers claimed that "Ricky" is an excellent snowboarder -- words cannot describe the joy I feel when I picture this. I was pulling for either "Ricky" or "Abbott" the Bernese Mountain Dog, but alas, the Pinscher took the prize.
Are There No Mirrors Backstage?
As beautiful as these dogs are, you could write an entire piece on the fashion disasters of Westminster handlers (form-fitting skirt suits, often in shimmering gold, seem to be the unfortunate trend). If only the owners devoted half the time on themselves that they spend grooming and primping their pups... And don't even get me started on the designer doggy fashion show. The poor little things could barely move in those ridiculous outfits.
Don't Let Them Fool You
Four-year-old "Emily," the Irish Setter, was deemed best of the sporting group. I'm not an enormous fan of the way they cut the fringe belly hair on this breed, but this was without a doubt a fantastic looking dog. As for the terriers, dog shows always portray them as prim and proper angels, when in reality they spend roughly 97 percent of their lives barking like psychopaths. Regardless, the Kerry Blue was the winning terrier.
Because I've probably only met one Pekingese in my life, I just didn't see the "Best in Show" quality in little "Malachy." Any Pekingese owners out there who say otherwise? Who else would have loved to see the Wirehaired Dachshund win it all?
