Bloodhound Wins Best in Show

By: Claire Ying

On Wednesday night in Lyndhurst Estate, New York, a bloodhound named Trumpet won Best in Show at the 146th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The dog show rookie, along with co-owner and handler Heather Buehner, stood out amidst a group of 3,500 purebred dogs. Trumpet was the first of his breed to ever win Westminster.

The annual show is the second-oldest ongoing sporting event in the US following the Kentucky Derby, and is usually held in the winter at Madison Square Garden, but for two years in a row now had to be moved to Lyndhurst due to pandemic restrictions. The initial rounds of competition were held in outdoor venues, while the group and Best in Show competitions were held in a tent with a select number of audience members.

4-year-old Trumpet may not have been the favorite for the crowd, who seemed to be drawn more towards Striker, a fluffy white Samoyed, whose “charisma shows when he's showing," and is a finalist from last year and one of the 7 group winners. But the bloodhound came from a family of talented dogs. His great grandfather, Tigger, was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest ears for a dog. His right and left ear were 13.75 inches and 13.5 inches long, respectively.

The winning pair proudly accepted a silver cup, a stack of ribbons, a wad of cash, and a customary paparazzi circle. Buehner later said, “I was shocked. There were seven beautiful dogs in that ring. You know, I feel like sometimes a bloodhound might be a little bit of an underdog. So I was absolutely thrilled.”

While Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played to Celebrate Trumpet’s win and French Bulldog Winston’s runner-up achievement, The Empire State Building illuminated in purple as an acknowledgment of the feat. We can expect to see many of the competent canines return next year for the 147th Westminster Dog Show.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/westminster-dog-show-trumpet-bloodhound-best-in-show-2022/

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/22/us/westminster-dog-show-winner/index.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656024262213x467357109930074000/Westminster%20Dog%20Show%202022_%20Photos%20and%20Highlights%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf