At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Wednesday night, a friendly, impressive and be-wrinkled bloodhound, Trumpet, won best in show out of more than 3,000 dogs. Trumpet rose up from a tough pool of competitors including a fluffy Samoyed, a silky Maltese, and an all-business German shepherd.
Trumpet is the first bloodhound to win at Westminster. “I was shocked,” Heather Buehner, Trumpet’s handler, said. “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.”
The show moved to Lyndhurst for pandemic-related reasons, disregarding the traditional location held in the winter at Madison Square Garden. Preliminary rounds were held in outdoor rings and the Best in Show rounds were held in a large tent filled with a small number of dog fanciers.
Trumpet, with his lumbering gait and clumsy manner, was not necessarily the first choice of the audience who were drawn more to showier and effervescent dogs. The loudest cheers during the show were for Striker, a charismatic and blindingly white Samoyed who participated in the show last year as well.
But, Trumpet had a unique feature all champion dogs have – he came from winning stock. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, his great-grandfather, Trigger, once held the record for the dog with the longest ears. Tigger’s right ear was 13.75 inches long and his left was 13.5 inches long.
Trumpet is the first bloodhound to win at Westminster. “I was shocked,” Heather Buehner, Trumpet’s handler, said. “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.”
The show moved to Lyndhurst for pandemic-related reasons, disregarding the traditional location held in the winter at Madison Square Garden. Preliminary rounds were held in outdoor rings and the Best in Show rounds were held in a large tent filled with a small number of dog fanciers.
Trumpet, with his lumbering gait and clumsy manner, was not necessarily the first choice of the audience who were drawn more to showier and effervescent dogs. The loudest cheers during the show were for Striker, a charismatic and blindingly white Samoyed who participated in the show last year as well.
But, Trumpet had a unique feature all champion dogs have – he came from winning stock. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, his great-grandfather, Trigger, once held the record for the dog with the longest ears. Tigger’s right ear was 13.75 inches long and his left was 13.5 inches long.
