Dogs on the Town

As some of you may know, the Westminster Dog Show is this week in NY. I work a few blocks away from Madison Square Garden, where it is being held, so I was hoping to check out some pampered pups. When a coworker suggested going down to the Hotel Pennsylvania, official hotel of the show, I figured it was a worth a visit. When she ended up not feeling well upon departure, I was not deterred, and went solo.

So, as I get to the hotel lobby, it's basically like any other day in a hotel lobby during a convention, except there are array of perfectly groomed dogs being walked around, sitting on couches, and generally being admired by all passers-by. I didn't want to bother anyone, so I decided to take my lunch at the cafe in the lobby and just sort of observe the scene. Mostly dogs were just being walked in and out, generally ignoring each other and sticking to their owners - these are show dogs after all, the competition is fierce!

Upon finishing my lunch I decided to go talk to one of the owners of a dog that I thought rather cute, but with which I was unfamiliar.

If you've seen Best in Show, you're probably waiting for the zealous pet owner story.

I did what I thought was customary, asking this woman what breed of dog she was, to which she replied a PBGV, which I later learned is short for Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (pictured above), her name was Friday, and explained it was traditionally a rabbit hunting hound with origins in France. After small talking the woman a bit, with the usual where are you from, is she entered in the show, and so forth, the woman explained that Friday's mother was entered in the show, which I took to mean that Friday wasn't. I then asked how old Friday was, and was told that she was 18 months.

Then, with my general lack of dog show knowledge, I asked "so does that mean Friday is too young to be in contention?" The woman very quickly set me straight by cutting me off and informing me that "Oh no, she's ALREADY a champion. She won her first competition at 13 months." After an awkward "awww...she's a sweetheart" and a farewell, I had the distinct feeling that I had just got served.

At that, I figured I'd offended the stage mom enough, and took it as a sign that I better end this lunch time excursion and head back to work.