Best In Show Winner

The winner of the Westminster Kennel Club's "Best In Show" is "Sadie" a Scottish Terrier. Sadie, up against a fine group of competitors, strutted her way to victory in front of a cheering Madison Square Garden crowd on Tuesday night.

Other worthy Best In Show contenders were a Doberman Pinscher, the Puli, French Bulldog, Whippet, Toy Poodle, etc.

As for Sadie The Scottish Terrier-“She was perfect,” said her handler, Gabriel Rangel. “I couldn’t ask for anything else.”

The judge who chose Sadie as Best In Show said “This is very special,” he said as he gestured to her as she celebrated on the table. “A dog of this quality comes along once every 10 years,” he added, recalling the 2001 winner, a Bichon frise, as the last one of Sadie’s singular caliber. “Her breed character is fabulous — she thinks very highly of herself. Her coat is absolutely breathtaking.”

Congratulations to winner Sadie and all the canine participants in this year's Westminster Kennel Club's dog festival. It was a great and fun show.

Pedigree, the dog products company produces very moving commercials on behalf of dogs who are living in shelters.

If you would like to donate to help dogs in shelters you do so here at the Pedigree Foundation.

Latest Westminster Dog Show Results

As usual, another fine night for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Everything went smoothly except for a few little "relievements" that occurred. By the dogs that is.

Here's the results of last nights group finals:

* Toy Group: Winner: Toy Poodle

* Hound Group: Winner: Whippet

* Non-Sporting: Winner: French Bulldog

* Herding: Winner: Puli

Many are tired of seeing the little "Pepi Le Pugh" French Toy Poodles win almost every year but at least some variety was introduced with the Puli (Heavily Corded Coat), the Whippet and of course the favorite of many-the French Bull Dog.

In fact the most watched videos on the Westminster site are videos of the French Bulldog and the Bulldog! What? Nobody watching the Pepi Le Pugh's? Shocking!

More at the official Westminster Kennel Club Site.

Breaking Story: NYC Westie Gets Mugged!

A Brooklyn woman had to stop at a store to pick something up. She was walking her dog and decided it would be OK to tie up her West Highland Terrier while she ran in and got milk.

She heard a "funny" bark and went outside to find her Terrier shivering and coatless. The dog was wearing a green wool coat with leather trim and belt-quite stylish!

The woman walked throughout the neighboring areas to try and find the doggie coat thief but to no avail. She decided to make the dog feel better by buying it 2 more coats. In addition, the Terrier has an expensive "Burberry" coat as well.

Story at NBCNewYork.com.

Keep Pets Safe During Cold Wintry Weather

Check out these useful and important tips on how to keep your pets safe and healthy during cold wintry weather at the official site of the ASPCA.

Pacemakers for Dogs? More Common Than You Think

Here's a very interesting article about dogs receiving pacemakers. Some dogs as they get older may inexplicably slow down or have sinus related problems. In some of these cases the condition is known as "Heart Block."

Heart Block can cause sudden death in dogs. A possible way to treat it is by a vet that specializes in canine cardiology implanting a pacemaker. Little known, dogs have been receiving pacemakers since 1967! Very few people are aware of this but it's more common than we think for a dog to receive a pacemaker.

If you have an older dog that seems to be seriously slowing down for no apparent reason you might get the dog checked for these conditions. In the case featured in this article, the cost of implanting a pacemaker was over $5K so it's not a quick, easy cheap procedure.

Read more about dogs receiving pacemakers here at BusinessWeek.

Debark Your Dog?

We all know of dogs who can't stop barking. I used to have one, a terrier mix who saw every stranger or other dog as a threat. He would bark constantly to warn and ward them off. There are pros who teach owners how to deal with dogs who bark too much.

But, some owners choose to take the drastic route of having their dog's vocal cords cut to cut out the barking. I would never do such a thing and would discourage anyone else from doing it. Some owners choose to do this as opposed to moving to a new location or investigating how to deal with the problem.

Article on dog owners who have had their dogs "Debarked." at the New York Times.

Annual Westminster Dog Show

The annual Westminster Dog Show, the largest dog show in the U.S. will be taking place on February 15th and 16th this year. All dog fans love this show-it's the academy awards for dogs!

All dog lovers have their fav breeds and groups and they're all on parade at the AKC sponsored show that takes place in NYC's Madison Square Garden.

There are 3 new breeds included in the line up this year:

* The Irish Red and White Setter-a beautiful dog!

* The Norwegian Buhund-Vikings will love this breed.

* The Pyrenean Shepard.-A French Herding dog.

Catch this show and enjoy two nights of the prettiest dogs in the world.

Visit the Westminster 2010 Dog Show Site Here.