Our gentle reader Michael emails to say:
"My mother called me today all excited that a Rottie won Westminster. She even said the winner looked exactly like my dog Homer. But on the web page all I see is a story about a pit bull. Was 'Mommy Dearest' mistaken?"
Yes, Mom's info is a little off, but she wasn't seeing things: There was indeed a Rottweiler in the Best in Show ring last night, though he didn't emerge with the purple-and-gold ribbon. That honor went to Ch Rocky Top's Sundance Kid, informally known as Rufus, who is a colored bull terrier, not a pitbull.
The bullterrier's characteristic feature is its head, which should resemble an egg.
There are two varieties of bullterrier: the colored and the white. The latter has had the most media notoriety, first with Budweiser ad-meister Spuds MacKenzie and later with the "bullseye" dog for mega-store Target.
Terriers go Best in Show at the Garden more than any other group -- 44 out of 99 times. But this was the first time a colored bullterrier took the top slot.
Now to the Rottweiler, Ch Carter's Noble Shaka Zulu, informally known as Shaka. He won the Working group piloted by breeder-owner-handler Keith Carter, a former Florida State linebacker.
Shaka was "discovered" by Anne Rogers Clark, universally considered the doyenne of purebred dogs, and was the favorite underdog to go Best in Show, which would have been the first ever such win for a Rottie. There's always next year.
Dermot -- aka Ch Kendoric's Riversong Mulroney -- upended the top dog in the country, a Pekingese named Jeffrey, to win the Toy Group.
A charming, clownish lap dog, the pug is supposed to be multum in parvo -- a lot of dog in a small package.
Dermot may have taken that too much to heart in the Best in Show ring, where he broke his "stack" and initially refused to allow the judge to examine him. That kind of behavior might be excused of a puppy, but not a seasoned show dog in the most high-profile of shows. It likely cost him his shot at history.
Ch Merry Go Round Mach Ten, a top-winning Dalmatian nicknamed Boomer, was the victor in the Non-Sporting group. (Non-Sporting is the dog world's way of categorizing breeds that don't quite fit into the other six groups.) If anyone has insider knowledge of that green carpet, it's Boomer: He is kenneled with Carlee, the German shorthair pointer who went Best in Show at the Garden last year.
The iconic suburban dog, the Golden retriever, always a perennial crowd favorite, took the Sporting group. Ch Chuckanut Party Favour O Novel, better known as Andy, was the number-10 golden retriever in the country last year.
The last and only time a Scottish deerhound won the Hound group at Westminster was in 1968. Ch Thistleglen Margot -- or just Margot for short -- was the only double-X chromosome in this year's Best in Show lineup. She was also the nation's winningest deerhound in 2005.
Photos courtesy AP
The last winner of the night, from the Herding group, was Ch Bugaboos Big Resolution, an
Old English Sheepdog whose friends call him Smokin'. He was the number-5 bobtail in the nation last year.
Photo courtesy Westminster Kennel Club
Now to the Rottweiler, Ch Carter's Noble Shaka Zulu, informally known as Shaka. He won the Working group piloted by breeder-owner-handler Keith Carter, a former Florida State linebacker.
