Wasabi the Pekingese won Best In Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show

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As I get older, the more I understand why people like smaller dogs. I used to be a “big dogs only” person and I would spend too much time dreaming about Newfies, Boxers, Great Danes and assorted monster mutts. But nowadays… yeah, I understand why people get the toy dogs. I would absolutely go for a Pekingese puppy with their little monkey faces too. And good news, I bet there will be a big spike in interest in Pekingese dogs now that Wasabi the Pekingese has won Best In Show at this year’s pandemic-modified Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Wasabi, a low-slung Pekingese named through bloodlines for a Michigan sushi restaurant, won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Sunday, his long tresses winning out in a field that included a trim whippet, a bushy sheepdog and a blinding white Samoyed that was the top-ranked show dog in the country. Wasabi is the son of a champion Pekingese and the great-grandson of Malachy, the 2012 Best in Show winner who was also bred and shown by Wasabi’s owner and handler, David Fitzpatrick.

“I didn’t think lightning would strike twice,” said Fitzpatrick, who has been coming to Westminster since he was a boy and has produced a string of group winners and show-circuit champions.

Wasabi’s victory capped a most unusual pandemic year for Westminster and a most unusual show, one forced out of its regular winter window at New York’s Madison Square Garden to a June date on the rolling green lawn of a robber baron’s country estate in suburban Westchester County. The dogs were judged in outdoor rings and competed for group and Best in Show honors inside a giant air-conditioned tent. No spectators were allowed, but that did little to diminish the drama.

“It was a show for the ages,” said Patricia Craige Trotter, the judge who picked the winner. Wasabi, she said, was a tiny dog “that feels like he’s 10 feet tall.” As she weighed his merits against his breed and his six rivals, Trotter said, “he stood there like a lion.”

He was bred to be one. His great-grandfather was a champion. His mother, Sushi, named after Fitzpatrick’s favorite restaurant on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, was a champion Pekingese as well. Wasabi got his name, Fitzpatrick said, when a visiting friend badgered him to name a litter of dogs, a task that, until then, had been set aside. Fine, Fitzpatrick said. They went tossing out sushi-flavored names. Ginger. Wasabi. The latter just stuck, he said.

[From The NY Times]

The name “Wasabi” just fits this little guy. And he does seem exceptionally chill, not high-strung at all. He happily posed for his Best In Show photos and I hope he got lots of Beggin’ Strips and Pupperoni treats after the photos. He seems like a real sweetheart.

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27 Responses to “Wasabi the Pekingese won Best In Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show”

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  1. Watson says:

    I am here for this dog content! Wasabi FTW!

  2. betsyh says:

    All the dogs were winners. They were all so beautiful.

    The event took place at a robber baron’s estate? How romantic I thought–a highway man who got rich holding up coaches at night stealing necklaces from beautiful young women. I was disappointed by the actual definition: a person who has become rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices. (But maybe that could be a highway man?)

    • surveysays says:

      It was at Lyndhurst (once the home of JP Morgan), literally a quarter mile from where I live. It certainly wasn’t publicized locally, I only found out due to cops handling traffic when I went out yesterday.

      • Kathryn says:

        I live 10 minutes away from Lyndhurst – they really kept the lid on this event. Haha Wasabi is the dog version of Cousin It!

      • betsyh says:

        That’s crazy that they could keep the location of a global event such a secret.

      • lucy2 says:

        That is such a pretty area! I’ve been to the Rockefeller estate and Lyndhurst.

  3. EnormousCoat says:

    Bouffant is back, b!tches! I need a Wasabi blowout asap.

  4. bros says:

    I just got a papillon, and was very impressed by Lark.

    my bro and sister in law were supposed to get married at lyndhurst mansion last summer but covid forced the cancellation 🙁

  5. C-Shell says:

    AND! My puppy’s (Fiona’s) daddy won Best in Breed for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels! Of course, she’s still pooping on the rug in my foyer, so maybe not ready for Westminster.

  6. Esma says:

    I am so here for this content! More doggies. More Wasabi :)) His face is delightfully cranky

  7. Gwendolyn says:

    I have given up hope of ever seeing my beloved Mastiffs or Great Danes win best in group (I saw a Dane one year at the National Dog Show), but I do so love the big goofy working breeds. Not to mention as a single woman, you walk down the street behind two Mastiffs weighing 300 + pounds you feel super safe (also the slobber makes sure people socially distance). But the financial and physical toll of the senior years (lifting a 180 lb dog up and down stairs with age related mobility issues) really makes a toy breed seem sensible. That said I was rooting for the Frenchie or the Sammy, oh well maybe next year.

    • Kaylove says:

      As an owner of a mastiff and a great dane, I always focus in on those breeds during the show. Such beautiful breeds, though, I’m biased!

      My Dane turned 9 today! Yay! But I totally get the appeal of smaller dogs..cant beat the gentle deposition of a sweet dane though.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Loved seeing the Neapolitan mastiffs Sunday afternoon and the details the announcers were giving out about them. They are suppose to lumber!

    • The Recluse says:

      We adopted two Shepherd mix brothers. Mom was the shepherd and the dads were something else. One of them clearly had a Great Dane daddy. He towers over his brother by a solid three inches and has a great dane face and the sweet disposition too. A total cuddler.

  8. Faye G says:

    Awww what an adorable little guy! I’m ready for a dog of my own now, and I love the Pekingese breed. Although I’d have the fur trimmed short for easier maintenance

  9. L says:

    Awww! Congrats to Wasabi! 🥰🐶🏆

  10. K says:

    This is what I needed today. This dog could give walk lessons to Rupaul and you know it. What a badass.

  11. lucy2 says:

    Wasabi looks kind of like a sloth wearing a wig. I like it.
    I saw the FLUFFIEST Golden recently and just wanted to take him home, but there’s already enough cat hair here.

  12. The Recluse says:

    Those pekinese dogs remind me of Tribbles, but with faces!
    One of these days I hope a Pembroke Corgi wins.

  13. Charfromdarock says:

    So sweet!

    I love all dogs but especially little dogs. My boy topped out at 8 pounds.

    Little dogs = little 💩s. 🙂

  14. Ai says:

    Growing up, I had two Pekingese dogs, and while little in size, they had the best, big personalities and were so very sweet. I’ll miss them forever. They do require care since have trouble breathing and you have to take care of their eyes, nose, and face or they can get hurt and/or sick.