It is traditional that the winner of the Westminster Dog Show dines on a celebratory meal at Sardi's, but now the Department of the Health tightening its leash on the practice: Starting next year, Westminster champions will no longer be allowed to dine at Sardi's or ANY OTHER RESTAURANT. more ›

Tonight, the Best in Show will be announced at the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Nearly one hundred breeds competed yesterday on the first day of competition for the herding, hound, toy and non-sporting groups—you can see videos of all those judging competitions here—and today the remaining breeds are strutting their stuff in the sporting, working and terrier groups. more ›

Yesterday was the first day of the Westminster Kennel Club's 133rd Annual Dog Show (yes, there was some protest). The terrier, hound, non-sporting and herding groups were seen: The top terrier was a Scottish terrier named Ch Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot, top hound was a Scottish deerhound named Ch Gayleward's Tiger Woods, the top non-sporting dog was a standard poodle named Ch Randenn Tristar Affirmation and the top herding dog was a puli named Ch Cordmaker Field Of Dreams (videos here). more ›

As you know, the Westminster Kennel Club is holding their 133rd annual All-Breed Dog Show, but did you know that 2008 Best in Show winner, Uno, helped light up the Empire State Building in its honor? His little award-winning paw switched on the purple and yellow lights at 10 this morning. Now he's not only the first beagle to win Westminster, but also the first beagle to get this ESB honor. Oh Uno, what can't you do? more ›

The traditional way to know what color the Empire State Building is to look at the building's website. But plain text can be lacking, which is where What Color is the Empire State Building comes in. more ›

Given the state of the Knicks and Rangers, the Garden hasn't heard cheers as resounding as it did last night during the Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show ceremony for some time. But a Beagle named Uno brought the house down, becoming the first ever of his breed to win Best in Show. The last time a beagle even made it to the final round was in 1939. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured police officer at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn, a gas leak on South 8th St. and Wythe Ave. in Brooklyn, and a bank robbery at the North Fork branch on 87th St. and Broadway in Manhattan.
  
• The FDNY will be stationing a battalion chief at the Deutsche Bank building until it is fully dismantled.
  
• Someone in the Clinton campaign said that there's a 5% chance that in the event of a deadlock between Obama and Clinton at the Democrats' national convention, Al Gore may arise as a compromise candidate.
  
• Plans for a Veselka on the Bowery may be on the rocks, as a liquor license for the Avalon building location looks unlikely.
  
• The 69-year-old man, who was killed after being sideswiped by a cab and then run over by a bus on West 57th St. yesterday, was on his way to deliver candy to Oprah's best pal Gayle King.
  
• A 500 lb. man is suing the FDNY for $5 million after ten firefighters, who were trying to take him to the hospital using a pulley-and-platform rig to get the man out the building, dropped him down a flight of stairs.
  
• Patty Hearst's French bulldog won Best of Opposite Sex in the breed's category (a male won Best of Breed) at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
  
• City Council Speaker Christine Quinn proposed a citywide network of water-borne mass transit, where boats could ferry New Yorkers from stop to stop all over the city's five boroughs.
  

It's that time of year again - the Westminster Kennel Club will be naming the Best in Show dog tonight. Today is day two (of two) of the Westminster Kennel Club's 132nd Dog show, and the best in group for the sporting, working and toy groups will be determined. Those dogs will face off against the winners of the herding (an Australian Shepherd), non-sporting (a standard poodle), terrier (a Sealhyam Terrier), and the hound (a beagle) groups. more ›

The 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show arrives at Madison Square Garden Monday. The two-day event has thousands of dogs undergo a winnowing process that culminates with the awarding of Best in Show. The American Kennel Club recognizes 157 disinct breeds that are eligible for competition, and four of those breeds are brand new entries to the field. They include the Tibetan mastiff (a working dog), the Beaucerand and Swedish vallhund (herding dogs), and the Plott (a hound). more ›

Sure, there's American Idol on tonight, but there's the Westminster Kennel Club's 131st annual Best in Show tonight! Today was the second day of judging, and there was at least one upset: Last year's Herding Group winner, Smokin', "got dumped in the breed." Aww, poor Smokin'! Newsday's Denise Flaim says that springer spaniel James, if he wins Best in Group, may be Dandie Dinmont Harry's competition during Best in Show. more ›

Though we suspect he may have gotten some Jello pudding packs along the way, he isn't fat, and yesterday, Harry, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, stole the show in the first day of competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. more ›

Purebred dogs from across the country are rocking out at Madison Square Garden for the Westminster Kennel Club's 131 Westminster Dog Show. Over 2,600 dogs are competing today and tomorrow for Best in Breed and Best in Show prizes. Many dogs and their owners stay at the Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from MSG, where dogs meet each other and their owners sniff out the competition. more ›

There's a rather amazing story in New York about two of the city's medical examiners trying to find their missing puggle. While the article by senior forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes is titled "Bonfire of the Puggle," it's definitely got the makings of a local Lord of the Rings, as there travels to Tampa, Alphabet City and the Bronx, not to mention gang tattoos and melanoma fear. And since $1,000 was being offered as a reward, there is a happy ending. more ›

Rufus, an adorable (and very aardvark-like) bull terrier, won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club's 130th Dog Show last night. Rufus (real name: Ch. Rocky Top's Sundance Kid) beat out an English sheepdog (so fluffy), a Scottish deerhound (honestly, a little weird looking, if graceful), a pug (the crowd gasped when he freaked out during judging), a gorgeous Rottweiler (our personal favorite), a Dalmatian (not named Spot), and a golden retriever (very pretty). Gothamist watched the competition on TV and we were quite impressed with Rufus's pose and Best in Show judge Jamie Reynolds said he had "The classic profile of a colored bull terrier." Classic means "egg-shaped head," as all the papers have explained it. Rufus lives in Holmdel, NJ, and is just wacky: The Post reports that Rufus snacks on "chicken when he earns a treat for doing his patented 'hucklebacks'—whacking his rump against doors for fun." We guess that's what happens when his dad is "Einstein The Joker." more ›

Today is the last day of the Westminster Kennel Club's Dog Show, and tonight Best in Show will be announced! Among yesterday's Best of Breed winners was a pug named Dermot, a Rottweiler, a bull terrier and Dalmatian. Today they will be judging dogs like beagles, retrievers, and corgis! You can see the latest Best of Breed results here. And we found it funny that the Times covered the dog show in the sports section, but we suppose, though all the descriptions of hair sprays and canine beauty tips made it seem a natural for Styles - or even Science. And who knew that hair sprays are technically illegal in the competition ("no foreign products"), but the WKC seems to operate under a "don't ask, don't tell" policy (one person grooming felt his "made-in-America" conditioner was okay since it wasn't foreign). more ›

It's that time of year again - it's the Westminster Kennel Club's 130th Dog Show! The show will be on USA tonight at 8PM, but there will be videos available online at the WKC site after the various breeds have been judged. One of the thousands of dog owners told the Daily News that she was going to get up at 4AM to get her Yorkshire Terrier ready for a 9:15AM judging. There are tons of things for dogs to do at Madison Square Garden and the vicinity - the Yahoo photos show dogs on treadmills and enjoying spa treatment, just like this little pug at right. more ›

- CONTEMPLATE: What transit contract did this guy get? more ›

Though the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is over, Gothamist has been enjoying city rag's photographs from the final night. The win of the "liver-colored" German pointer Ch Kan-Point's VJK Autumn Roses (aka Carlee) was shocking to us, because "liver-colored" doesn't really sound so good, unless it's foie gras. But the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the only awards show where they get to say, "This bitch really deserved to win"...well, the only awards show until Chris Rock hosts the Oscars in a week and a half. Anyway, Gothamist found this NY Times piece almost helpful on why purebred dogs have such crazy names; we say almost because the names are still insane. more ›

There's also great NY Times audio slide show (look on the right column here) with the co-owners of a Tibetan Terrier, the owner the dog lives with is in NYC and the other owner is the breeder. The breeder says that NYC dogs are much better socialized, and therefore she likes to place dogs here. Given that the dogs get to know the interiors of tiny apartments well, it is true they are very nice when Gothamist tries to hug them. more ›

Today, the 129th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show begins! Gothamist was at Madison Square Garden yesterday and saw some dogs arrive, and we formed our mini paparazzi line. The Pennsylvania Hotel, across the street from MSG, has "doggie concierges" and a doggie spa, plus there are doggie "whisperers" on hand. The Post notes that there's a super cute Glen of Imaal terrier from Chelsea competing for the first time (its name is India and likes to eat bagels with cream cheese). Plus, the Empire State Building will go purple and gold - the colors of the Westminster Kennel Club - tomorrow night. more ›

For the past 128 years, the Westminster Kennel Club has been holding The Westminster Dog Show, where dogs are trotted around for judges to judge, examine, and molest. It took only an hour for the 2,500 entries to be filled by eager dog owners and breeders. New York has 246 entries, New Jersey has 178 and Connecticut 108. And did you know that there's a "Junior Showmanship" competition, where 10-18 year olds compete on their handling skills? More fun facts about the Westminster Dog Show. more ›

It's that time of the year again: The 127th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show! The official Westminster Kennel Club site links to judges of all breeds. And I can't talk about the Westminster Dog Show without mentioning the wonderful Christopher Guest film, Best in Show. An interview with Christopher Guest pre-Best in Show, but with insight in his mind. The only thing I'll look forward to with the end of the Westminster Dog Show is that incessant use of "Who Let The Dogs Out?" during news program reporting about the dog show will stop.
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