Wire Fox Terrier 'Sky' Takes Home Best In Show At Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- They are the best of the breeds and on Tuesday night, a new top dog was crowned at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Sky a Wire Fox Terrier took home the prestigious honor, CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reported.
For handler's with high quality dogs a win at Westminster is a huge honor but owners said that honor doesn't come without a lot of work.
"It's a lot of work to keep these dogs in coat. so you spend a lot more time on her hair than your hair," dog owner Susan Fraser explained.
Dogs at Westminster are not judged by beauty alone but by the standards of their breed.
"What the judges then do is not comparing dog to dog. he's not comparing his Tibetan mastiff to this standard schnauzer. What he's doing is comparing this Tibetan mastiff to the perfect Tibetan mastiff," handler Luke Baggenstos explained.
And while only one dog can walk away with the title they're all winners. Rare, big, and special dogs were all among the contenders for the title, CBS 2's Don Champion reported.
"It's kind of difficult to show a rare breed, trying to find people who know what the breed is about, what they were bred for," handler Kellie Miller said.
Miller is a handler for a Bedlington Terrier, a breed with Scottish roots.
Learning about rare breeds is like traveling the world. Dogs from Mexico, Ireland, and other countries were among the 180 different breeds and varieties present on Tuesday.
There were also some very sizable breeds on display at the show including Walter a 175-lbs St. Bernard with a 36 inch collar.
Since arriving in New York, Walter has done nothing but draw attention, his owner Mary Jo Fox said.
"He was at FAO Schwartz the other day and he fit right in with the stuffed animals. Their Spiderman was there taking pics but there were more people taking pictures with Walter than Spiderman," Fox said.
A 135-lbs Newfoundland also drew a crowd and so did Troy a Dobermann from Staten Island who saved his owners life when he was a puppy.
"We put him in bed with us. He's in the middle of us and he's leaning up against my left breast and he's nuzzling and sticking his nose there and all kinds of stuff and I was like, 'what the heck is going on?'" Diane Papazian said.
Moments later she found a lump that turned out to be stage 2 breast cancer.
More than 2,800 dogs took part in this year's show.
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