Westminster dog show 2010: Great Scott! Sadie, the Scottish terrier, wins Best in Show
Best of Show judge Elliott B. Weiss picks Sadie, the Scottish terrier, as the winner of the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
She is the No. 1 dog in the country, and will make the rounds of all the talk shows in the country starting with the morning shows.
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The Doberman Pinscher, No. 2 dog in the country, is first. CJ is met with thunderous applause. The commentator says New Yorkers love the Dobie.
Next is the Brittany Spaniel, followed by the whippet.
The Puli, with its long, corded fur, prances around the ring with its dredlocks flying. The toy poodle is the top winning toy in the country in 2009.
The Scottish terrier is the top dog in the country last year and is second to the last to be shown. The final dog is the French bulldog. He seems to be very popular with the sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd.
Judge Elliott B. Weiss has a tough job.
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The Best in Show competition has begun in the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
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The Terrier Group, is known for its spirited smaller dogs.
The judge pulls the Scottish terrier, smooth fox terrier, Norwich terrier and the Airedale terrier.
The Scottie wins.
So the final line-up is the whippet in the Hound Group, a toy poodle in the Toy Group, a puli in the Herding Group, a French bulldog in the Non-Sporting Group, Brittany spaniel in the Sporting Group, Doberman pinscher in the Working Group and the Scottie in the Terrier Group.
Who do you think will win?
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The Working Group judge chooses the boxer, Doberman, Portuguese water dog and Malamute as the finalists.
The Doberman Pinscher won the group.
One more group to go before the Best in Show begins.
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The judge pulls the Brittany spaniel, German wire-haired pointer, Golden retriever, Labrador retriever, the Gordon setter, black cocker spaniel, Irish water spaniel and wire-haired pointer griffon.
From that group, he pulled out the Brittany spaniel, Irish water spaniel, Gordon setter and Labrador retriever.
And the Brittany spaniel wins.
The most popular dogs in America are the Golden retriever and the Labrador retriever. Neither have won Best in Show. Wonder why?
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The final three groups begin competition tonight in the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Columbus' entry, Jackson, a Portuguese water dog, won't be in the ring tonight in the Working Group. He's back in his hotel, relaxing before returning to Atlanta as he trains for this weekend's show in Greenville, S.C. After that show, he retires and returns home to Columbus.
The Sporting Group is just getting underway. The Working and Terrier groups follow.
Monday night, the winners were a whippet in the Hound Group, a toy poodle in the Toy Group, a puli in the Herding Group and a French bulldog in the Non-Sporting Group.
After the final group winners are determined, the Best in Show will be chosen tonight.
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Jackson, a Columbus Portuguese water dog, saw his adventures at the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show come to an end around 2 p.m. today.
But his hard work was not unrewarded.
He won the Award of Merit, said his owner, Marilu Novy.
The winner of the breed was Aviators Luck Be a Lady. She will compete in tonight's Working Group competition. The Best of Opposite was Surfdog Haole Boy GQ. While only one dog moves on in the competition, the judges always choose one other top dog. In this case, a bitch won. The judge chose a male as Best of Opposite.
Awards of merit are given in each breed grouping. The number of the awards depends on the number of dogs in each breed. For the Portuguese water dogs, of which there were 19, two awards of merit were given.
Terry, Jackson's cousin, won the other Award of Merit.
"I'm thrilled," Novy said. "We had the chance to win one of four awards and we got one. I cannot complain. The Award of Merit winner is a dog that is recognized as a top dog in the breed."
Novy said Jackson is also thrilled.
After Jackson competes this weekend in Greenville, S.C., the 5-year-old Jackson will retire from the ring.
Jackson will return to Columbus on Sunday. By the way, Jackson's formal name is Belaluna Ferncliff Jackson.
The Columbus Kennel Club will meet at Locos Grill and Pub on 13th Street to watch the Westminster show at 8 p.m. The competition will air from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the USA Network. The sporting, working and terrier groups will compete. The Best in Show will conclude the show.
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Yes, CJ Favre, Jackson's handler, is related to Brett Favre, the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback.
They are first cousins, says Marilu Novy.
Recently, Jackson was at the Cherokee Rose Cluster in Atlanta, where he won BOB (Best of Breed) on Feb. 5. On Feb. 7, his daughter, Tybee, went Best of Opposite to him, Novy said.
"He has stayed with his handler, CJ Favre, this past year as he has had shows just about every weekend," Novy said. "Jackson finished 2009 in third place in Breed points and All Breed Points. The top five dogs in each breed get an invitation to Westminster. It allows your entry to be a priority. After the top five dogs have sent in their entries, the show opens up to all champions to enter. That is why some breeds have many entries. Portuguese Water Dogs have 19 entries."
Because of the snow on Friday, flights out of Atlanta were canceled. Favre's assistant, Ginger Aubert, drove Jackson and two other dogs that he's handling to New York.
Novy flew to New York mid-afternoon Sunday.
This story was originally published February 14, 2010 at 8:25 PM with the headline "Westminster dog show 2010: Great Scott! Sadie, the Scottish terrier, wins Best in Show."