Westminster Thrills

I have been very lucky to attend the Westminster Dog Show several times.  When I was a 4-H club member my mom and I would go with a group of dog club members and their moms to see this amazing dog show.  We would be so excited to go back stage and meet all the breeds, many of which were so rare we never saw them outside of Westminster.  It was a real thrill to get to attend Westminster so many times.  (Thanks, Mom for letting me skip school!)

As an adult, I've been to Westminster a few times with friends and we still get just as excited as we did when we were club members.  This year was extra special because two current dog club members were competing for the first time.  One was in the Juniors competition and the other was showing her smooth collie.  I was right there on the sidelines cheering as loud as I could.  They both had a great time and I think they are looking forward to competing again.

Another thrill was getting to speak with one of the best handlers I've seen.  Almost every year since I started watching Westminster I have seen this woman in the working group handling a Great Dane.  What really sets her apart is that she is just barely taller than the Great Dane and she always wears a sparkling ball cap.  I just love her!  This year I got the chance to meet her and shake her hand!

The only blemish to my otherwise fantastic experience was the Best In Show results.  I'm not going to go into detail about it, but let's just say the Pekingese was not my favorite to win.  Overall, I had a great time and I'm looking forward to attending again in the future.

Highlights included:

• Greyhound that looked almost exactly like Luna
• Shaking hands with the Great Dane handler
• Watching our 4-H members compete
• Watching the Juniors competition (those kids were amazing!)
• Getting free samples of Luna's dog food (score!)
• Spending time with friends and making new ones in the nose bleed section