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I hope everyone’s water bowls are filled to the brim cause it’s a big week in dogdom. Obviously we’re all counting down the days (three) until the biggest sporting event of the year: the Puppy Bowl on Sunday. But before the rough and tumble of major league mutts, we have the poise and discipline of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The 150th annual show, at that! From 2,500 candidates judges nitpicked down to seven finalists, and at long last with leashes wearing thin, the winner was announced Tuesday night: Penny, the four-year-old Doberman pinscher from Toronto! It was a monumental win for both Penny and her handler Andy Linton, who was doggedly determined to return to Westminster after some recent health issues. Tuesday marked Linton’s second Best in Show win, the first was in 1989 with Indy, also a Doberman. He was visibly moved as he and Penny received their ribbons and raucous cheering from the crowds.

In for a Penny: Penny “is as great a Doberman as I have ever seen,” Linton told a supportive crowd. Despite health problems, he guided the 4-year-old dog through an impeccably crisp performance. “I had some goals, and this was one of them,” Linton said, adding later in a conversation with reporters that as he’s winding down his career, winning at the milestone 150th annual Westminster show is “extra-special.”

Reserve best in show: Runner-up — and cheers just as loud — went to a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota. While Dobermans have won five times including Tuesday, no retriever has ever won, and their fans applaud every encouraging sign. Cota also seemed to enjoy the moment, particularly when his handler, Devon Kipp Levy, let him play with the ribbon.

The rest of the best: Other finalists included an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa apso called JJ, a Maltese named Cookie, an old English sheepdog dubbed Graham and a smooth fox terrier called Wager. The judge, two-time Westminster-winning handler David Fitzpatrick, called the lineup one “that will go down in history.” Each dog is assessed according to how closely it matches the ideal for its breed. The winner gets a trophy, ribbons and bragging rights.

Coloring in Penny’s character: Ringside afterward, Penny politely but pointedly nudged her nose into a visitor’s leg, looking for something — pets, as it turned out. She’s generally “very chill,” Linton said later, “but she can get pretty pumped up for a bad guy. Or a squirrel.” Co-owner Greg Chan of Toronto said Penny is “very demanding and very smart,” but she’s also “a pleaser — she’ll do anything for food.” (Her favorite snack? “Everything.”) Penny came out on top after 2,500 dogs, spanning more than 200 breeds, strutted their stuff at the show.

A doggone good time: Over two nights of semifinals, spectators cheered extra-loud for a Xoloitzcuintli named Calaco, a hairless dog who went around the ring like he had nothing to prove. A vizsla named Beamer charmed the audience by hopping into a box set out for his handler’s tools, and Storm the Newfoundland got laughs when he jumped up on his handler, standing as tall as she. Spectators cheered so loud for a golden retriever named Oliver that they drowned out the arena’s announcer, and chants of “Lumpy! Lumpy!” resounded as Lumpy the Pekingese strolled before a judge.

[From NPR]

Watching the seven finalists make their last campaigns before judge David Fitzpatrick was among the most nerve-wracking 28 minutes of my life. But so worth it! Like Fitz said, it was an exceptional group. Still, there was a definite moment when you just knew Penny sealed the deal. During the final evaluations, each dog gets a closeup inspection and chance to prance around the stage. When it was Penny’s turn, there was a moment where she just stood in all her glory, like she was gifting us with the magic of beholding the marvelous specimen she is. Michelangelo couldn’t have carved such a beauty. Truly, her stillness and presence made everyone take notice. I had chills. She flexed her power and her handler knew it, the judge knew it, and the audience knew it. Similarly, after she’d been named, Penny maintained her regal aura. Runner-up Cota, the Chesapeake Bay retriever, was an adorable floof treating the ribbon like a frisbee. As a dog should! But Penny took her win like a serene goddess. She knew she was the winner all along. I’m sure you can tell this was a very spiritually powerful experience for me just watching!

Finally, I have to bring up Cookie the “Maltese.” The quotations are there to convey my disbelief that Cookie is in fact a dog. You can’t fool me, that’s a toddler covered in a white sheet to go as a ghost for Halloween. PROVE ME WRONG.

Final finally, and grab your tissues: the show did a lovely tribute to Best in Show star Catherine O’Hara. I hope she and Winky enjoyed it together.

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