In Photos: The 2024 Westminster Dog Show

NEW YORK – For one last breath, it was a Sage’s decision.

A miniature poodle named Sage won the top prize Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, in what veteran handler Kaz Hosaka said would be his last appearance at America’s most prestigious dog show. After 45 years of competition and two top show dogs, he plans to retire.

Sage achieved 11th triumph for poodles of various sizes at Westminster; only wire fox terriers gained more. The last miniature poodle to take the trophy was Spice, with Hosaka, in 2002.

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“No words,” he said in the ring to describe his reaction to Sage’s victory before providing some: “So happy, emotional.”

Walking quickly and proudly around the ring, the black poodle “put in a great performance for me,” Hosaka added.

Sage bested six other finalists to place best. Second place went to Mercedes, a German shepherd whose trainer, Kent Boyles, has also herded a best in show winner before.

Others in the final round included Comet, a shih tzu who won the grand American Kennel Club National Championship last year; Monty, a giant schnauzer who arrived at Westminster as the country’s top-ranked dog and was a Westminster finalist last year; Louis, an Afghan hound; Micah, a black cocker spaniel; and Frankie, a colorful bull terrier.

As Sage made his way around the ring, a protester carrying a sign asking people to “boycott the creators” attempted to enter and was quickly intercepted by security personnel. Police and animal rights group PETA said three protesters were arrested. The charges have not yet been decided.

In an event where all competitors are champions in the dog show points system, victory may depend on finesse and an outstanding performance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open tennis tournament.

The final lineup was “excellent, glorious,” said judge Rosalind Kramer.

See more information: Why the Westminster Dog Show Made Me Appreciate Mutts

For Monty’s trainer and co-owner, Katie Bernardin, “just being in the ring with everyone else is an honor.”

“We all love our dogs. We’re doing our best,” she said in the ring after Monty’s semi-final win. “A stud” of a dog, he is solid, powerful and “very spirited,” said Bernardin of Chaplin, Connecticut.

So excited that while Bernardin was pregnant, she practiced obedience and other dog sports with Monty because he needed stimulation.

Dogs compete first against others of their breed. Then the winner of each race faces others from their “group”. The seven group winners face each other in the final round.

The best winner of the show gets a trophy and a place in the history of the dog world, but no cash prize.

In addition to the winners, there were other dogs that were a hit with the fans. A lagotto Romagnolo called Harry earned laughter from the stadium audience when he sat and begged for a treat from his trainer, and a vizsla called Fletcher delighted spectators by jumping on his trainer after taking a lap around the ring.

There was big applause too for a playful Great Pyrenees named Sebastian and a Doberman Pinscher named Emilio.

Other dogs who unsuccessfully competed for a place in the finals included Stache, a Sealyham terrier. He won the National Dog Show, which was televised on Thanksgiving Day, and took the top prize at a big terrier show in Pennsylvania last fall.

Stache features a rare breed that is considered vulnerable to extinction even in its native Great Britain.

“They are a little-known treasure,” said Stache co-owner, co-breeder and handler Margery Good of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, who has bred “Sealys” for half a century. Originally developed in Wales to hunt badgers and other burrowing animals, terriers with a “fall” of fur over their eyes are brave but comical – Good calls them “silly hams”.

Westminster can seem like a study in canine contrasts. Just walking around, a visitor could see a chihuahua peering out of a carrier bag at a stocky Neapolitan mastiff, a circle full of honey-colored golden retrievers next to a line of giant black schnauzers, and handlers with dogs much larger than themselves.

Shane Jichetti was one of them. Ralphie, the 80-pound Great Dane she co-owns, far outweighs her. It takes a lot of experience to show such a large animal, but “if you have a bond with your dog and just go along with it, it works,” she said.

Plus, Ralphie, despite his size, is “so calm,” Jichetti said. Playful at home in Staten Island, New York, he’s straight-laced—just like his harlequin-print coat—when it’s time to step into the ring.

“He’s just an honest dog,” Jichetti said.

The Westminster show, which dates back to 1877, focuses on the traditional purebred judging that leads to the best in show award. But in the last decade, the club has added agility and obedience events open to mixed breed dogs.

And this year, the agility competition featured its first non-purebred winner, a border collie-papillon mix named Nimble.

And Kramer, the best judge at the show, made a point of thanking “each dog, whether a domestic dog or a show dog.

“Because you make our lives whole.”

—Associated Press photographer Julia Nikhinson contributed.