Follow live updates on the 2024 Westminster Dog Show.
A-listers who traveled to New York this past weekend, gathering for the biggest event of their careers, arrived by car and driver, or on planes surrounded by entourages. They didn’t even bring their own passports, much less packed their kibble or toys.
However, each of them is a very good dog.
About 2,500 top dogs will be in New York City to compete this year Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Breed judging, the marquee event, begins on Monday, as several hundred other dogs battle it out in events testing agility, obedience and the ability to dive the furthest from a dock.
Getting into the show takes years of training and effort. Getting to the show requires extensive planning by owners and managers, planning hours or days of road or plane travel, packing thousands of dollars worth of equipment — tables in grooming, industrial hair dryers, leashes, collars, toys, kibble and more — and pray that delays or cancellations don’t disrupt their itineraries.
Treats are non-negotiable.
“I try to stock up on healthy, single-ingredient treats like freeze-dried duck or freeze-dried liver,” said Shell Lewis, 71, who came to New York with a Russell terrier and a Cairn terrier. However, on show days, his dogs receive “something special and of high value.”
“It involved a McDonald’s drive-through to pick up two sausage biscuits – I was eating the biscuits, they got the sausage,” he said.
Here’s how some show dogs, and their entourages, traveled to Westminster.
Taken on the road
In the United States, accumulating titles in local, regional and national dog competitions requires constant driving, with long trips being the norm. Most of the dogs, their trainers say, are used to the road.
Ms. Lewis drove 14 hours from Geneva, Ill., for Spangle, her 2-year-old Russell terrier, to compete in the agility event (Unfortunately, Spangle was knocked out in the preliminaries.) Ms. Lewis also brought Nora, his 7-year-old Cairn terrier.
“They haven’t learned to drive yet,” said Ms. Lewis, “but they are good travelers.”
Krysthel Moore and Quinnzel, her Border collie, whose 15-foot jump made it to the finals in dock diving, drove eight hours from their home in Quebec. Quinnzel snoozed most of it, Ms. Moore, 40.
Quinnzel hardly noticed the change in the surroundings, added Ms. Moore. “He doesn’t care where we are, he just wants to be near me.”
Some attendees car-pooled to the show. Jenni Nieft and Kris Dunlap, who met at a dog show three years ago, drove from Wyoming for more than two days with Rowan, an 85-pound Bracco Italiano, and 52-pound Keeva, a Weimaraner. The two dogs will compete in the breed judging on Tuesday.
“They start young, they’re crate trained, they’re just trained,” Ms. Nieft, 53, added that on road trips, exercise and bathroom breaks are essential. “We arrange the trip according to their convenience.”
Driving is the only transportation option: Some dogs, like Rowan, are too big to fly, because commercial airlines have weight and carrier size limits.
Dogs don’t travel light, as Jamie Goodrich, 41, explained. Traveling from Central Square, NY, north of Syracuse, he loaded his 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan with two crates, two folding chairs, three gallons of water, emergency kits for both dogs and humans, two suitcases of human clothes, three leashes, days of kibble, grooming equipment — various brushes, clippers, water misters, tables, scissors — and electric fan.
“Oh, and the dog,” she said of Aero, her Akita who will compete in breed judging on Tuesday. (The fan keeps the Aero from overheating backstage.)
Travel by plane
Other dogs fly to New York, which requires compiling tons of documents, getting vaccines in order, and navigating various airline policies and breed and weight restrictions.
Janice Hayes, a 42-year-old professional handler from Palm Springs, Calif., regularly flies to show dogs. Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, won the top prize at Westminster last year (“He’s got more miles than all of us,” Ms. Hayes said).
Buddy Holly is now retired, but made the trip again this year to bask in his final moments as reigning champion and to accompany three other show dogs. Britney and Spotify, petit basset griffon Vendéens, are shown, as is Hayden, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
Because of their size, the three petit basset griffon Vendéens fly in crates and in the luggage hold. Hayden flew into the cabin.
Going to the airport early is one of Ms.’s strategies. Hayes on the trip, as well as booking a seat on the side of the plane overlooking the plane’s hold — watching the dogs being loaded provides welcome reassurance that the dogs are on their way, too.
Dozens of dogs traveled from overseas to compete in this year’s show. Anel Vazquez Franchini and his dog Khaleesi, a 5-year-old bearded collie, flew in from Mexico City.
“We don’t have many bearded collies here. It’s easy to win when you don’t have competition,” said Ms. Vasquez Franchini of Mexican dog shows. The Westminster show, he said, was a coveted chance for Khaleesi — or Kaly, for short — to really prove herself.
Requirements for animals to travel abroad vary by country and can change frequently. Starting in August, dogs entering the United States must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.
Dogs living within the European Union who want to travel abroad – or whose people make that decision for them – must have their own pet passport. This document, issued by veterinarians, contains microchip registration, vaccine history and ownership information. This is mandatory for re-entry into the EU
Vitellozzo, a 2-year-old French bulldog who lives in Croatia with his handler, Valentina Zupan, has such a passport. He is a seasoned international traveler — this is his second time in the United States.
While flying, Vitellozzo did not need tranquilizers or other drugs, Ms. Zupan, 32. His crate fit under the plane seat and he slept through most of their trip, which included driving to Budapest, flying to Warsaw, then to Chicago for another show, and then driving in New York.
Sharing rooms and beds
Hosting the dogs and their people overnight are the hotels closest to the show’s venue, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“Big dogs, little dogs, fancy dogs, regular dogs, it’s a lot,” said Raquan Williams, a front-desk clerk at the Sheraton’s Four Points store in Flushing. “We like it.”
In addition to nightly rates of more than $200, hotels typically charge a one-time pet fee that can run more than $100. Most Westminster handlers and owners share rooms with their dogs.
And beds.
“My dogs take up a whole bed. I’m lucky if I can sleep upstairs,” said Patty Berkovitz, 69, who with her partner, Jack Florek, and two Irish Wolfhounds, Rowan and Brody, stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Long Island City. Rowan and Brody compete — against each other — in the race judging. All four of the creatures are in one room, and each of the dogs weighs more than 160 pounds.
With so many bedfellows, Mr. Florek, 71, whose main strategy is to go to bed before the dogs, something he neglected to do Friday night.
“I’m the little spoon,” he said.
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