The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

The 139th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show unfolds February 16th and 17th, at Madison Square Garden (MSG). As usual, we will be attending the show, cheering on our favourites and revelling in the organized chaos that is the MSG backstage benching area. Also as usual, we'll be checking in to the storied Hotel Pennsylvania, the perfect home base for taking in the show, especially as residency at the Hotel Penn lets you mingle with many of the competing dogs also staying there.

Whether you're attending in person or cheering on the dogs from the comfort of your couch (tune in to USA Network on Tuesday, February 17th, live 8-11 PM ET / 5-8 PM PT) to see who will be crowned this year's ‘Best in Show’ winner), this is a must-see event—and has been for well over 100 years. Read on for just what makes this show an institution.

Westminster By the Numbers…

• First held in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America's second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby.

• Just how venerable is the show? Westminster pre-dates the invention of the light bulb and the automobile (!), the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Washington Monument, and the invention of basketball and the establishment of the World Series.

• The dog show has outlasted three previous versions of Madison Square Garden and is currently being staged in MSG IV.

• The first telecast of Westminster was in 1948, three years before “I Love Lucy” premiered.

• In 2005, streaming video with same day coverage of breed judging highlights was made available for the first time on the Westminster web site (westminsterkennelclub.org). It was an immediate and huge hit.

• A portion of the proceeds from Westminster's first show in 1877 was donated to the ASPCA to establish a home for stray and disabled animals.

• The Empire State Building first lit its tower in the Westminster colours of purple and gold in honour of the event in 2004 and will do so again in 2015.
• The oldest dog to capture Best In Show? Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, a Sussex Spaniel, that took the top title at an age of 10 years, two months, and nine days in 2009.

• The youngest winner? Rough Collie Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven, who captured the award in 1929 at the age of nine months.

• David Frei has been the “voice of Westminster” for 25 years.

• In 2014, Westminster introduced the Annual Masters Agility Championship, the first Westminster event to be open to mixed breed dogs. (Let’s hear it for the mixed breeds! You’ll catch us there Saturday, February 14th cheering our hearts out!)

Watch from home: