Westminster Dog Retires to Breed. Why Can't Bitches Have It All?

Miss P is a four-year-old beagle from British Colombia—a fully grown adult, by dog standards. On Tuesday, she won the top honor in her field, the Westminster Dog Award for Best in Show. A legacy attendee—her granduncle, Uno, won the prize in 2005—Miss P was considered an outlier nonetheless, and statistically speaking…
Vogue Coverage of the Westminster Dog Show Is Literally the Holy Grail
The whole of Vogue's 123-year history has been leading up to this, a behind-the-scenes video feature on the "backstage beauty" of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. If I had my druthers, absolutely everything produced by Vogue would be just like this. Same tone, analogous subject matter, similar number of dogs…
Patty Hearst's Fancy Dog Wins Westminster Kennel Club Best of Breed
It's that special time of year when you squint at your TV, rewind to make sure you heard right, and go, "Patty Hearst is into dog shows now?" The heiress to the Hearst newspaper fortune, who served 22 months in prison after being kidnapped by and then joining the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, is back in the news…
The American Kennel Club's Breeding Standards Might Be Killing Dogs
Guys, we might be contributing to canine unhealthiness with our love of designer pooches. As different breeds like the Pekingese or bulldog are bred to fit certain standards put forth by the American Kennel Club, including a shortened snout and an enlarged head, the pups might be cute, but they can't breathe.
Dirty Mudbloods Allowed to Mingle with Purebred Dogs at Westminster
The Westminster Dog Show, a 138-year-old institution dedicated to preserving the once functional deformities produced by humanity's ancient breeding experiments with gray wolves, broke tradition last night and let, for the first time in a century, mixed breed dogs compete next to their purebred counterparts. The…
Mutts Now Welcome at the Westminster Dog Show
You already knew your sweet, charming shelter mutt has star potential, but now the Westminster Dog Show agrees. The AP reports that, for the first time in more than a century, the event will welcome mutts—for some competitions, anyway.
Martha Stewart's Dog Has a Higher Standard of Living Than Most Human Children
Like many convicted felons, Martha Stewart has a big guard-type dog that she takes everywhere with her. Unlike many felons' dogs, Martha's canine familiar is a Chow Chow named Genghis Khan, and on Monday, he won Best in Breed at Westminster. So what's Genghis Khan-Stewart's life like when he's not winning awards?…
Elegant Updos and Classy Coats at the Westminster Dog Show
Last night the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show kicked off in New York. The show was first held in 1877, making it the second-longest continuously held sporting event in the U.S., second only to the Kentucky Derby. But like any high-profile event, we're mostly interested in how they looked. Let's take a…
Westminster Dog Show Officials Think Sad, Mongrel Dogs Are a Total Bummer
You're looking at the Westminster Kennel Club ideal — a purebred canine pampered enough to have developed a well-honed sense of class superiority based on its own hopelessly inbred genealogy. At least, that's the metric by which Westminster officials measure canine greatness and if you plan on tuning into tomorrow's…
This Dog Is Ready for the Catwalk
NEW YORK — FEBRUARY 10: Phyllis Ludwig, holds Dixie Belle, a nursing home volunteer dog, at the pre-Westminster Fashion Show at Hotel Pennsylvania ahead of next week's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on February 10, 2012 in New York City. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show first held in 1877, is the second-longest…
Contestants Think Dogs Shows Are A Snoozefest
[New York, February 14: This pampered poodle, who answers to the name "Desert Turquise Elijah," yawns as he's groomed backstage during the first day of the Westminster Dog Show. Image via AP.]
There Were No Losers At The Westminster Dog Show
Sadie the Scottie may have won Best in Show at the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, but let's not forget that the other competitors were also adorable — and hilarious. We award prizes to the
losers
runners-up, below.
Spirit/Fingers
[New York, February 15. Image via Getty]
Ingrid Newkirk Is The Worst Person In The World
PETA — the animal-rights organization whose media strategy seems to be three parts B-list celebrities, one part fake blood, and five parts boobies — co-founder Ingrid Newkirk wrote an op-ed today defending the use of "sexy women in our ads."
More Puppy Love From the Westminster Dog Show
Who spends $4600 in excess baggage fees and $2,000 on dry cleaning — to get the moldy cheese and liver treat crumbs out of their pockets? A dog-handler. Poodle groomers have odd lives too:
