It’s a dog’s life — and Penny the Dobermann pinscher is officially top dog.
Penny won best in show on Tuesday at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, besting six other finalists. It was a dream come true for Penny’s handler, Andy Linton.
“All of us that do this dream about winning this. You know, just like an NFL player dreams about winning the Super Bowl,” Linton said. “This is our Super Bowl.”
Penny’s win was Linton’s second Westminster best in show, 37 years after the first. It’s a career-capping triumph as Parkinson’s disease forces him to dial back.
“She was so excellent. And she also stole my heart,” best in show judge David Fitzpatrick said about Penny.
The best in show judge is sequestered until the big reveal. He didn’t know which dogs were out there, but he noted that every breed is beautiful.
“Your heart skips a beat to see something absolutely near perfect that nature could, you know, be so kind to let happen,” Fitzpatrick said.
A two-time best in show winner himself, most recently in 2021 with his Pekingese, Wasabi, this marked his 53rd Westminster.
Fitzpatrick was obsessed with dogs as a kid in Wilmington, Delaware, but wasn’t allowed to have one. As a teenager, he started working with other people’s dogs.
“I was immersed in this world of dogs and dog shows, and I was so happy,” Fitzpatrick said. “Once I got older and wasn’t living at home, I hated going back. Every time, my father would say, ‘When are you going to get a real profession? You can’t play with dogs your whole life.’ And I’d say, ‘Yes, I can.'”
He worked his way up to top-level handler and breeder, and finally to respected dog show judge, preparing for Westminster by brushing up on the breed standards for more than 200 breeds entered.
“Just basically try not to fall and break a leg or get food poisoning or do anything that’s going to sabotage the event,” Fitzpatrick said.
The first Westminster Dog Show was held in 1877. Its mascot then — and its logo now — is a pointer named Sensation. For most of its history, the show has been held at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Donald Sturz, a retired school administrator who has been president of the Westminster Kennel Club since 2022, hasn’t missed a Westminster since he was 10 years old, when he began competing in junior showmanship. As a kid, he showed the family’s golden retriever, Clyde.
“I was, unfortunately, one of those children who had some challenging times in school. I had a lot of bullying experiences,” Sturz said. “After a difficult day to come home, and the dogs are jumping up and down, and the tails are wagging…as a child, that’s a wonderful counterbalance, right, when things are not so great otherwise.”
As best in show judge in 2022, Sturz picked Trumpet the bloodhound as the winner.
Getting your dog to the ring takes hours of work, from brushing and blow-drying to careful styling. It’s a labor of love.
Gia Giuffrida, the handler of Jett the standard poodle, said her dog’s hair is almost 10 inches long. After removing Jett’s hair bands, she brushes and blow-dries his coat, and finishes with hairspray. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour process.
“A place like this, with all the crowd and the excitement… he just thrives off of it… so he knows. He looks at me and he just… We just go do it, together,” Giuffrida said.
Together, they won best of breed.
