Sky is Best in Show! At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC on Tuesday, Feb. 11, a charismatic and adorable ginger-and-white wire fox terrier named Sky won the top prize at the annual dog show, besting six other finalists and 2,800 total canine competitors (and 187 breeds) in the biggest dog competition of the year. A veteran of the dog-show circuit, the 5-year-old female pooch is the 14th of her breed to win the Best in Show prize at Westminster.
Judge Betty Regina Leininger made the final decision as the show was broadcast live on USA; Sky wins a trophy, huge ribbon and a steak lunch at Sardi's. The "reserve best in show," or the runner-up, was Ally, a snow-white standard Poodle.
Other pooches in the top seven included a crowd-pleasing bloodhound named Nathan, Matisse, an elegant black Portuguese Water Dog, Irish water spaniel Riley, heart-melting Miniature Pinscher Classie and — Queen Elizabeth would favor this one! — Coco, a Welsh Corgi.
But the night belonged to Sky, judge Leininger told reporters. "This was her night. I've seen her before," she said. "I had never judged her before. I had seen her before at other dog shows where she's won. She looked the best tonight from every angle."
"It's overwhelming. I'm so proud of her. There's no words to describe this," Sky's handler, Gabriel Rangel, gushed.
"We love her," he added. "She knows she did something good. She’s a princess dog."
