Westminster Kennel Club: America’s Dog Show (NAPSA)—It’s America’s Dog Show: Every year, millions of tele- vision viewers tune in to watch the Westminster Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show on USA Network in February, making it one of the most widely watched shows on cable television. What makes it so popular? David Frei, who has co-hosted the television broadcast since 1990, gives three reasons: The Entertainment: “The viewers get to see every single breed and variety of dog recognized by the American Kennel Club,” Frei says. “This year, that’s 165 different hairstyles, sizes, col- ors and personalities. You will never see that kind of a collection on your daily walk in the park.” The Competition: “The best of the best: it’s the only timeall year that all the great show dogs are in the same place at the same time. Here they are competing for the dog world’s most prestigious crown: Best In Show at Westminster.” The Alma Mater factor: “People are sitting at home with their family dog on the couch next to them, rooting for their dog’s ‘cousin’ to win. If they have a Golden Retriever, they are watching for the Golden Retriever and hoping thatit wins. And they can imagine themselves and their dog in thering, too: ‘You know, Biff, if I bathed and brushed youa little more often and we did a little roadwork once in a while, we could be out there, too!” Westminster has been around since 1877, with this year’s 130th annual show at Madison Square Garden in New York City adding to its standing as the second longest continuously held sporting event in America (behind only the Kentucky Derby). The USA Network’s live coverage (8-11 p.m. EST, February 13 and 14) features the group com- Credit: Lisa Croft-Elliott/Westminster Let Us Entertain You. At the Westminster Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show,165 different breeds and varieties of dogs—different hairstyles, sizes, colors and personalities—are exhibited and shown onthelive USA Network telecast on February 13-14. petition, matching each of the breed winners in their groups (Sporting, Hound, Working,Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding). The seven Group Winners meet at the very end of the show, and oneof them is selected as Best In Show. And again in 2006, online viewers will be able to see highlights of individual breed judging during the days. Highlights will be available on the Westminster website (www.westminsterkennelclub.org) within two hours of the completion of judging during the two days. So if you are a fan of Australian Shepherds, for example, you will get to see all of the 35 Aussies competing for the chanceto be the Best of Breed winner that advances to the Working Group in the eveningfinals. Last year, more than 1.5 million streams were viewed online in 140 different countries. In addition, more than 600 press credentials were issued on site to media representatives from 40 states and 20 countries. Westminster’s total entry of 2,622 for this year comes from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Puerto Rico. Leading the way with the most entries are California (277) and New York (249). Sustaining the far-reaching importance of Westminster in the dog show world is the fact that the top eight states in terms of entries include Florida (127), Texas (106) and Washington (96). Samoyeds and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have the largest entries of 42 each, followed closely by Golden Retrievers and Rhodesian Ridgebacks with 39. The Westminster Kennel Club is America’s oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. Established in 1877, Westminster’s influence has been felt for more than a century through its famous all breed, benched dog show held every year at New York’s Madison Square Garden. To learn more, visit www.westminsterkennelclub.org.
