A giant schnauzer named Monty is America’s top canine after earning the title of best in show on Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Judge Paula Nykiel chose the five-year-old black dog from Ocean City, New Jersey, over a stacked field of six other group winners, among them a whippet named Bourbon (awarded reserve best in show for a third time), a German shepherd named Mercedes, and English springer spaniel named Freddie, a bichon frisé named Neal, a Skye terrier named Archer and Comet, a sassy shih tzu who won the toy group for a second consecutive year only to again be pipped at the final hurdle.
Monty, whose official champion’s name is Hearthmore’s Wintergreen Mountain, was the last dog standing after a winnowing-down process that began on Monday morning with more than 2,500 canines in 213 breeds and varieties hailing from all 50 states and 12 other countries, including Canada, Japan and South Korea.
The victory marked a historic first. No giant schnauzer had every won America’s most prestigious dog show the breed was first entered in 1930.
“Winning best in show is a dream come true,” said Katie Bernardin, Monty’s handler and co-owner. “I won best junior handler at this dog show when I was 18 and I always used to sit up in the rafters and watch and just want to be them. All those people were my idols and then I got to be them and be down there and get to win the big ribbon.”
Monty had won best in group and reached the last seven in both 2023 and 2024, only to come up short in the final round. But the third time proved the charm as he became the first dog from the working group to win the big prize since a slobbery crowd favorite Newfoundland named Josh in 2004, ending a two-decade hoodoo that represented the longest active drought of any group.
the first for a dog in the working group since 2004, and just the 13th win for the group in Westminster history.
Full report to follow.
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