Which breed reigned victorious in the 2019 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show?
Over 2,800 dogs began the 2019 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City, hoping to become the best of their breed. The 192 breed winners then competed for best in their group, with those group winners advancing for the biggest prize of all – Best in Show.
The 143rd WKC Dog Show wrapped up Tuesday, February 12 in Madison Square Garden on Fox Sports 1, but only one dog could be named the best of them all in this year’s edition of one of the oldest sporting traditions in the country.
(For more on how dog shows work, see our explanatory guide here.)
In the Herding Group, a Bouvier des Flandres called Baby Lars (officially GCHS Quiche’s Major League) won. In Jan Karon’s Mitford novels, Father Tim Kavanagh’s dog Barnabas is mostly Bouvier.
In the Hound Group, the Longhaired Dachshund called Burns claimed victory for the little dogs with tiny legs (official name GCHP DC Walmar-Solo’s OMG SL JE).
In the Non-Sporting Group, the winner was a Schipperke called Colton (official name GCHP CH Rivendell’s Barefoot Bandit). The Schipperke was developed from the Samoyed.
In the Sporting Group, the Sussex Spaniel called Bean (officially GCHS CH Kamand’s Full of Beans @ Erinhill) claimed the title, defeating many types of retrievers.
In the Terrier Group, a Wire Fox Terrier straightforwardly called King (official name GCHB CH Kingarthur Van Folliny Home) was victorious.
In the Toy Group, the winner was a Havanese called Bono after the lead singer of the band U2. (officially GCHG CH Oeste’s In the Name of Love).
In the Working Group, the winner was a Boxer called Wilma (officially GCHP CH Cinnibon’s Bedrock Bombshell).
Once they got to the group winners, those seven competed against each other, with Bono earning Reserve Best in Show (second place overall) while Best in Show went to King.
With King’s victory, the Wire Fox Terrier now has two Best in Show wins within the past decade.
The next big dog show of note will be the Beverly Hills Dog Show, broadcast on NBC on Sunday, April 1.