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Scottish deerhound crowned the top dog in US competition
Source: Agencies |
February 17, 2011, Thursday
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A Scottish deerhound that loves to chase wild animals caught her biggest prize yet, winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.
The 5-year-old named Hickory pulled a huge surprise at Madison Square Garden in New York, taking the title of America's top dog on Tuesday night.
Judge Paolo Dondina of Italy picked 38.5-kilogram Hickory from a best-of-seven final show ring that truly sounded international - there was a Pekingese, Portuguese water dog, Chinese shar-pei, smooth fox terrier, bearded collie and black cocker spaniel.
Hickory became the first kind of her breed to win the purple-and-gold ribbon and shiny silver bowl.
"People who own, breed, show dogs dream of this day," handler Angela Lloyd said.
Hickory lives on a farm in Warrenton, Virginia, where she enjoys running after deer and rabbits. Owners Sally Sweatt, Cecilia Dove and Dr Scott Dove will certainly let her romp all she wants after this victory.
The 135th Westminster was considered a wide-open field from the start. A smooth fox terrier that was the No. 1 show dog of 2010 recently retired and an Australian shepherd that won the big AKC/Eukanuba event did not enter.
Hickory won the hound group on Monday night, then had to wait around for her big chance on Tuesday.
From the stands, to the rings to backstage, people were a-twitter - iPads, BlackBerries, Droids and then some at an event that started in 1877. Signs of social media were everywhere at the show.
Proving, in fact, that it is indeed possible to teach an old dog show new tech tricks.
Westminster had 49,000 friends on Facebook by late Tuesday afternoon, said Susi Szeremy of the kennel club's social media team, and the total quickly zoomed to more than 60,000. There are about 2,400 followers Tweeting along - litters of twitters.
Ken Roux of Dixon, Illinois, made it easy for anyone to keep track of his Boston terrier at the 135th Westminster event. Hoss won a best of breed award on Monday.
Roux put a tag with a QR code, a set of small squares randomly appearing in a larger square, on top of his dog's crate. The pattern is more than an inch square, and anyone pointing a smartphone at the pattern is automatically taken to Hoss' website.
Brook Berth, an assistant to Hoss' handler, said she'd heard of only one other dog at the Westminster contest that had the QR tag, which stands for "quick response." The new technology allows people to instantly access the dog's history and contacts.
"I noticed a lot of people taking pictures," Berth said. "It's just so convenient. You don't have to worry about people writing down information or passing out cards. They have it all right away."
The fancy bar codes could become Westminster's trendy bark codes in the future.
"This is the test area," Berth said. "So far, it seems to be a big hit."
The 5-year-old named Hickory pulled a huge surprise at Madison Square Garden in New York, taking the title of America's top dog on Tuesday night.
Judge Paolo Dondina of Italy picked 38.5-kilogram Hickory from a best-of-seven final show ring that truly sounded international - there was a Pekingese, Portuguese water dog, Chinese shar-pei, smooth fox terrier, bearded collie and black cocker spaniel.
Hickory became the first kind of her breed to win the purple-and-gold ribbon and shiny silver bowl.
"People who own, breed, show dogs dream of this day," handler Angela Lloyd said.
Hickory lives on a farm in Warrenton, Virginia, where she enjoys running after deer and rabbits. Owners Sally Sweatt, Cecilia Dove and Dr Scott Dove will certainly let her romp all she wants after this victory.
The 135th Westminster was considered a wide-open field from the start. A smooth fox terrier that was the No. 1 show dog of 2010 recently retired and an Australian shepherd that won the big AKC/Eukanuba event did not enter.
Hickory won the hound group on Monday night, then had to wait around for her big chance on Tuesday.
From the stands, to the rings to backstage, people were a-twitter - iPads, BlackBerries, Droids and then some at an event that started in 1877. Signs of social media were everywhere at the show.
Proving, in fact, that it is indeed possible to teach an old dog show new tech tricks.
Westminster had 49,000 friends on Facebook by late Tuesday afternoon, said Susi Szeremy of the kennel club's social media team, and the total quickly zoomed to more than 60,000. There are about 2,400 followers Tweeting along - litters of twitters.
Ken Roux of Dixon, Illinois, made it easy for anyone to keep track of his Boston terrier at the 135th Westminster event. Hoss won a best of breed award on Monday.
Roux put a tag with a QR code, a set of small squares randomly appearing in a larger square, on top of his dog's crate. The pattern is more than an inch square, and anyone pointing a smartphone at the pattern is automatically taken to Hoss' website.
Brook Berth, an assistant to Hoss' handler, said she'd heard of only one other dog at the Westminster contest that had the QR tag, which stands for "quick response." The new technology allows people to instantly access the dog's history and contacts.
"I noticed a lot of people taking pictures," Berth said. "It's just so convenient. You don't have to worry about people writing down information or passing out cards. They have it all right away."
The fancy bar codes could become Westminster's trendy bark codes in the future.
"This is the test area," Berth said. "So far, it seems to be a big hit."
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