They say that New York is the city that never sleeps and whenever
I’m visiting there, I fall into its rhythm and don’t seem to sleep much either.
How can you? There’s so much to do and see with never enough time to do it all
in. The big pull for me, of course, was the Westminster
Kennel  Club’s  134th annual dog show held February 15th and 16th at
Madison Square Garden. You certainly get drawn into the feverish excitement and
the nearly palpable anticipation of just who will win the coveted Best In Show title.
There are so many incredibly beautiful dogs all who claim to represent the best
of their breed; however, only one can win. See this
year’s winning dogs, including Best In Show winner Sadie the Scottish Terrier, here.   

Jennifer Nosek (Modern Dog’s editor and creative director) and I also give you a
taste of what goes on behind the scenes at the world’s most famous dog
show with photos we took while walking through Westminster’s benching
area. The benching area is where the dogs are combed, brushed,
sprayed, trimmed and blow-dried to coiffed perfection while they await their
time in the show-ring.  Amazingly, the
WKC allows show attendees to walk through this area to get a first-hand,
up-close look at the canine candidates. It’s so crowded with dogs, groomers,
handlers, owners and visitors that one must shuffle rather than walk through.
Some of the dogs’ owners are happy to chat with you about their dogs while
others eschew any discussion whatsoever, choosing instead to direct
concentration on their upcoming moment in the ring.  

All the pet-friendly hotels surrounding the Garden were
packed with show dogs. We found the action hotspot to be the Hotel Pennsylvania
where the lobby was brimming with just about every breed of dog imaginable. The
SkyBark party at Hotel Penn the Friday preceding the show was a blast…where
else could you party in a dog-friendly night-club-like atmosphere, watch a fashion
show, bid on amazing silent auction items in benefit of charity whilst snacking
on goodies and imbibing your favourite spirit?

Now that I’m back home again I’ve got some serious sleep
to catch up on–after all, I’ve got to be in fine form so that I can keep up
with the escapades of Goldie, Modern Dog’s intrepid reporter and officially unofficial 2010 canine sock
puppet mascot for Vancouver’s 2010 Olympics. So stay tuned…more on
that soon.