Last night, Penny the Doberman pinscher beat out 2,600 dogs across 214 breeds to take home the title of “Best in Show” at the Westminster Kennel Club’s 150th Dog Show in New York City.
The milestone event was held at Madison Square Garden—the same location as the first Westminster Dog Show in 1877—following preliminary rounds at the Javits Center earlier this week. Over two nights, seven Best in Group winners were crowned from the pack of lumbering bodies and flowing fur to advance to the Best in Show round. Joining Penny (working group) were: Zaida the Afghan hound (hound group), Cookie the Maltese (toy group), JJ the Lhasa Apso (non-sporting group), Graham the Old English sheepdog (herding group), Cota the Chesapeake Bay retriever (sporting group), and Wager the smooth fox terrier (terrier group).
This year’s finalists wowed the judges. “This is amazing. They often say what a great lineup, but this is one that will go down in history,” said David Fitzpatrick, this year’s esteemed Best in Show judge, after deliberation so thorough the woman seated next to me muttered, “Come on already!”
I agreed with David; choosing between the Afghan’s aspirational highlights, the Old English sheepdog’s voluminous coat, and the Smooth Fox Terrier’s charming gait was a tall order.
The crowd erupted in cheers when he finally announced five-year-old Cota, with his perfect russet waves, as the runner-up, and even louder when David pointed to Penny, declaring the four-year-old Canadian-born Doberman the 150th winner of the Westminster Kennel Club’s Dog Show. As her handler, Andy Linton, was swarmed with congratulations, Penny stayed calmly put, looking up at him with her big brown eyes, a dream of composure amid the canine chaos.
Linton seems to have the magic touch when it comes to showing this breed: The last time a Doberman pinscher won Best in Show at Westminster was with Linton and his dog Indy back in 1989. “You can’t attribute it to one thing, but she is as great a Doberman as I’ve seen,” Linton said of Penny in an interview immediately following their win. “As the judge said, this is maybe the best lineup I could ever imagine, so it’s truly a great honor to win under that judge, who is so renowned and well-thought-of.”
Penny succeeds Monty the giant schnauzer, who won Westminster last year. No word yet on where Monty plans to open his presidential library.
On Monday and Tuesday, photographer Poupay Jutharat went backstage to capture the doggy elite on their biggest night of the year as they were brushed, trimmed, crimped, misted, swabbed, and powdered to breed perfection. Take in her view of the proceedings below.