Westminster Dog Show Sets Stage for Drama on Day One

Feb 16th 2010

The 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show kicked off yesterday and the excitement inside Madison Square Garden was palpable. "The event is sold out both days," a Westminster staffer tells me as I pick up my press pass, head downstairs and follow the crush of people into the benching area.

The area is crowded with hundreds of people, dogs, photographers and television news crews. The noise level is high, but not from the sound of barking dogs. The champion dogs -- of all sizes, shapes and coat types -- are quiet; they curl up in their kennels, doze in their handlers' laps or lay splayed out on the cool concrete floor. Some are getting groomed and fluffed with blow dryers as they prepare for their turn in the show ring.

One of the few remaining "benched" dog shows in the country, Westminster requires its canine competitors to remain -- for the entire day -- in an assigned spot in a huge exhibit hall when they aren't competing in the show ring. It's an extraordinary opportunity for the public to meet 2,500 champion dogs representing 173 different breeds and varieties and chat with their breeders, owners and handlers.

"What kind of dog is that?" a little boy asks an older gentleman holding the leash of a giant dog with a scruffy, gray coat and a long tail. "This is an Irish wolfhound," the gentleman, who turns out to be the dog's breeder, says. "You can pet him if you want." Elsewhere, a crowd has gathered around a white Standard Poodle with pink fabric wrapped around the ends of her ears standing on top of her kennel. "Why are her ears wrapped like that?" a woman asks the poodle's handler. "It's so her hair doesn't get wet when she drinks from the water bowl," the handler answers.

In the legendary green carpeted show ring, judging of individual breeds took place on Monday, setting the stage for some major drama. This year, the dog to watch is Sadie, a Scottish Terrier who is the number one ranked dog in the country and favored to win best in show. But seasoned dog enthusiasts know that a number one ranking doesn't guarantee the coveted title at Westminster.

"There is something about the DNA of Westminster where upsets happen," says Denise Flaim, a dog expert who is chatting with me near a couple of dozing Rhodesian Ridgebacks. "Things are unpredictable here." Last year, Stump, a 10-year-old Sussex Spaniel came out of nowhere and nabbed the best in show title -- to the utter shock of many watching.