Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Day Two Rundown

Colsidex Seabreeze Perfect Fit, a Weimeraner, took the sporting dogs group. Excellent choice. A Weimeraner has never taken this category, but this one can go all the way.

The working dog group went as expected, but the toy group was a travesty. I call big-time dog-doo on this one. Smash JP Win A Victory, the poodle won, but clearly, Yup's Cohiba Esplendido, the Havanese was the superior dog, yet finished a shameful third.

Best in Show: the beagle, K-Run's Park Me In First, a.k.a. "Uno," the first hound to win it since 1983! This is history, folks. Everyone knows the hounds are up against it every year, but '08 proved the year of the beagle, the breed that was once used to test military artilary. I'd have taken the Weimeraner, but that's just one man's opinion.

That leads me to wonder... Is it time to reform the judging system for Best in Show? Believe me, I have the utmost respect for Dr. J. Donald Jones. But doesn't it seem a bit unfair to these dogs and their trainers who work tirelessly to get this far to let the whim of one man, sequestered throughout the preceding competition, to make a gut choice from a five-minute exhibition? I only hope I live to see the day when Best in Show is determined by a panel of judges--some of whom see the dogs throughout the competition and the rest who are sequestered.