February 17, 2015
Mary Altaffer/AP
Rocket, a shih tzu co-owned by famed and infamous heiress Patty Hearst, is inspected by the judge in the ring during the toy group competition of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Feb. 16. Rocket won the toy group.
NEW YORK - The crowning of the grand champion of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday brought together the world's top dogs, from shaggy to sleek, including a finalist owned by the infamous heiress Patty Hearst.
The 139th Westminster show, the United States' second-longest continuously running sporting event after the Kentucky Derby, features 192 breeds and varieties and culminates with the selection of the Best in Show winner.
"I've always dreamt of this moment, but I never thought it would happen," said Lisa Pacheco, from Raynham, Massachusetts, whose 4-year-old West Highland white terrier, Pip, is competing in the event.
Pip, a social terrier that tugged on his leash to greet passersby, has been entered in the show twice before but failed to advance to the finals. "Third time's a charm," Pacheco said, fingers crossed.
More than 2,700 dogs from 15 countries and all U.S. states except North Dakota and Idaho are competing in this year's prestigious two-day event at New York's Piers 92 and 94 and Madison Square Garden.
Judges select the best of each breed and group, divided into seven categories - hound, toy, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working and terrier.
On Monday, the first night of events, a bouncy 15-inch beagle named Miss P won in the hound group; a dark and puffy standard poodle named Flame won in the non-sporting group; Swagger, a friendly 110-pound old English sheepdog, won in the herding group; and a silky-haired shih tzu named Rocket won in the toy group.
Rocket, who wore a sparkling ponytail, is co-owned by Patricia Hearst Shaw, the 60-year-old publishing heiress famous for being kidnapped by and then apparently joining the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s.
Sporting, working and terrier groups are judged on Tuesday evening.
Miss P, Swagger and a Portuguese water dog called Matisse are considered this year's show favorites. Matisse will compete for best in the working group on Tuesday.
Ahead of the judging, dogs snacked, rested and endured photographs alongside their owners. "He loves to pose," Denise Wilczewski, from Wall Township in New Jersey, said about her 160-pound komondor, Chauncey, who lounged on his purple display table with his white dreadlock-like hair fanned out at his sides.
Those selected as the best in their groups compete for the ultimate Best in Show prize, won last year by Sky, a wire fox terrier from California. The winner gets a trophy and embarks on a media tour.
