King for a lifetime: Wire fox terrier named Westminster's best in show
A wire fox terrier named King is America’s top dog after earning the title of best in show on Tuesday night in a Westminster Kennel Club dog show touched by eleventh-hour controversy.
The crowd at Madison Square Garden seemed almost taken aback when judge Peter Green revealed his choice over a pair of overwhelmingly popular favorites: a longhaired dachshund looking to break a centuries-spanning hoodoo and a charismatic Sussex spaniel back in the final ring for the second year in a row.
King the wire fox terrier named Westminster's Best in Show – as it happened
Maybe they shouldn’t have been: the outcome marked the 15th time a wire fox captured the highest prize at the country’s most prestigious dog show, more than any other breed by a wide margin. Scottish terriers have won eight times at the oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States after the Kentucky Derby.
The poised seven-year-old from Brazil, whose official champion’s name is Kingarthur Van Foliny Home, earned the crown over a field of five other group winners, among them a Havanese named Bono (named reserve best in show), a bouvier des Flandres named Baby Lars, a boxer named Wilma and the crowd-pleasing dachshund Burns and spaniel Bean.
The coronation was preceded by a spot of controversy as a seventh contender expected to compete for the big prize – Colton the schipperke, who won the toy group on Monday – was declared ineligible right before start of Tuesday’s night session over a conflict of interest: Green’s longtime partner has co-owned dogs with one of Colton’s co-owners.
Yet Colton’s best in breed and best in group wins remained intact and he was allowed to make a lap of honor with the final septet before he was excused from the ring.
The veteran handler Gabriel Rangel, who steered King to the title, was overcome with emotion in the immediate aftermath. He’s now steered three Westminster best in show winners – Sadie the Scottie in 2010 and Sky the wire fox in 2014 – one less than the all-time record of four shared by Green himself.
After Wednesday’s media blitz – a whirlwind itinerary that includes a visit to Fox & Friends, a photo op atop the Empire State Building, the traditional lunch at Sardi’s and a possible walk-on part in the Broadway musical Pretty Woman – he’ll at least temporarily resume life as a dog with owner Victor Malzoni Jr in Brazil.
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