NEW YORK – The dog was Penny. The victory was priceless.
A Doberman pinscher named Penny won best in show Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, earning the most coveted award for America's show dogs and giving veteran Andy Linton another victory after nearly four decades. Linton had the best result in 1989 with another Doberman, named Indy.
Penny “is the best Doberman I've ever seen,” Linton said to a supportive crowd. Despite ongoing health issues, he guided the 4-year-old dog through a crisp performance.
“I had some goals and this was one of them,” Linton said.
Second place, and with equally loud applause, went to a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota. Although the Dobermans have won five times, including Tuesday, no retriever has ever won and their fans applaud every encouraging sign.
Cota also seemed to enjoy the moment, particularly when his coach let him play with the tape.
Other finalists included an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa apso named JJ, a Maltese named Cookie, an Old English sheepdog named Graham and a smooth fox terrier named Wager.
Each dog is judged on how close it comes to the ideal of its breed. The winner receives a trophy, ribbons, bragging rights and the distinction of winning the milestone 150th annual Westminster show.
A crowd favorite at the 2025 Westminster show, Penny has been rocking stages ever since. A crowd of handlers and other dog lovers cheered her and beloved Linton on in the first-round action Tuesday afternoon.
Later, in the front row, Penny politely but deliberately pushed her nose into a visitor's leg, looking for something: pets, as it turned out.
Co-owner Greg Chan of Toronto said Penny is “very picky and very smart,” but she's also “a people-pleaser — she'll do anything for food.” (His favorite snack? “Everything.”)
Penny came out on top after two days, 2,500 dogs and more than 200 breeds strutted their stuff at the Westminster Kennel Club.
Many others scored meme-worthy moments or cheered up the crowd, even if they didn't make it to the finals.
During two nights of the semifinals, spectators applauded loudly for a Xoloitzcuintli named Calaco, a hairless dog who walked around the ring as if he had nothing to prove. A vizsla named Beamer wowed the crowd by jumping onto a box prepared for his handler's tools, and Storm the Newfoundland laughed as he jumped onto her handler, almost as tall as she was. Spectators cheered so loudly for a golden retriever named Oliver that they drowned out the arena announcer and chants of “Lumpy! Lumpy!” echoed as Lumpy the Pekingese walked before a judge.
One dog that made history in the semi-finals was Millie, a Danish-Swedish farm dog. The lively little breed has just been eligible for the Westminster show this year, and Millie beat out 10 other farm dogs on Tuesday afternoon to make the night round.
“It's been a very exciting journey” establishing the breed in the United States, said Brita Lemmon, who got her first farm dog in 2000 and competed Tuesday with one named Coyote.
Victories at Westminster often go to dogs with professional handlers or owners with decades or even generations of experience under their belts. But making it to the elite, a champion-only show, is a major achievement in the canine world, especially for beginners like Joseph Carrero and his Neapolitan mastiff, Dezi.
After longing for a Neo since his teens, Carrero finally got one when he was 35 years old. A heavy equipment operator from Indian Springs, Nevada, started showing the dog just because the breeder wanted him to. Now Carrero himself breeds and handles his Neos in the ring, while working full time and then some.
“It's very difficult for us to do this, but we enjoy it and he enjoys it,” Carrero said as visitors gathered to greet the 190-pound dog.
Boerboels, formidable guard dogs native to South Africa, played an important role in how Natalee Ridenhour met her late husband and why she eventually left metropolitan life for a farm in Royse City, Texas.
On Tuesday, Ridenhour and a Boerboel named Invictus did something else she could never have imagined: compete in the Westminster show.
The dog did not advance beyond the first round. But as a visitor delightedly pet the 170-pound animal, Ridenhour said, “Honestly, the big win is: You're about the 50th person to get down and love it.”
