Why I Love Westminster

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

Sure, it’s been the coldest winter in Chicago for the last thirty years, but that just made it easier to justify sitting inside and watching every single minute of the 138th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Okay, maybe not every single minute, but as many minutes as I could manage without completely abandoning all my other responsibilities.

It’s easy to get all “Squeeee!” about Westminster when I’m around other Dog People, but sometimes it’s hard to explain the appeal of the event to the less fanatically dog-centric.

So let me break down for you Why I Love Westminster:

Every single dog in the show gleams. Even the ones with crazy hair. These are dogs that have been brought as close to breed standard perfection as possible. Even if you are a mixed breed-only person, there is no denying that these dogs are magnificent.

I like to see how many dogs I can correctly guess will go on to compete for Best in Show. I have decent judgment with some breeds (like the collies), but at the Westminster level it takes a keen eye to see why one dog goes on to Best in Show and the dog you really liked ends up not even placing in the Best in Breed competition. I don’t get very many of them right, but I’m always very pleased with myself when I do guess correctly. Now think of the number of dogs the breed judges have seen during their careers – every judgment is a virtuosic performance in and of itself, because every individual dog is being measured against the breed standard, not against other dogs in the ring.

I love that so many of my friends and professional contacts are live tweeting their reactions or posting witty commentary on Facebook. It is a sporting event, after all, and outrage can make for some very entertaining quotes. Even the New York Time sports blog got in on the action.

The handlers’ outfits. My goodness. Every year I wonder how many pairs of pantyhose the women must go through during the entire event, and what happens if they get a run five minutes before entering the ring. For those of you who also wonder about the outfits, there is an entire blog dedicated to that very question.

It's unabashedly partisan. After checking out this year’s three new entries, watching 190 breed competitions, and cheering on the contestants in the new Masters Agility Championship, at the end of it all there is the thrill of rooting [loudly] for your favorite dog to win Best in Show. This year, Best in Show went to Sky the Wire Fox Terrier, which is the fourteenth time this breed has taken the top prize.

And, last but not least – every year I am reminded that I need to watch this movie again. Because it's always funny.