A look at glamorous magazine ads featuring the top dogs in the U.S. leading up to the Westminster competition.
by Josh Dean
Registered name: GCH CH Casablanca's Thrilling Seduction
Better known as: Beckham
Breed: Cocker Spaniel
Owners: Linda Moore, Bruce Van Deman, Carolee Douglas, Mary Walker
Not the slickest ad, but it hardly matters when you’re Beckham, the No. 1 dog in America. This Dallas-based cocker spaniel’s owners opted for a large win photo of his 60th Best in Show, as well as an action shot, under the spotlight at last year’s Westminster—just to remind judges that he almost won in 2011.
Registered name: GCH CH Palacegarden Malachy
Better known as: Malachy
Breed: Pekingese
Owners: Iris Love, Sandra Middlebrooks, David Fitzpatrick
To fully appreciate how odd—and adorable—this walking ball of fluff is when groomed for a show you have to see Malachy in motion, but his beauty shot here still makes it very clear that this is the most unusual looking dog in the field. His handler and co-owner David Fitzpatrick picked an Asian theme to nod to the breed’s Chinese heritage, and combined it with win photos from his recent barrage of Bests in Show. He’ll be a crowd favorite at the Garden for sure.
Registered name: GCH CH Winfall Brookwood Styled Dream
Better known as: Scarlett
Breed: Boxer
Owners: Deb McCarroll, Mark Fagan, Pat Billhardt, Sergio Tenenbaum
Scarlett has been the top-ranked boxer in America for more than two years, and her most sellable attribute is that face—and that’s exactly what’s emphasized in her latest ad, which also highlights two of her 61 Bests in Show under her smiley Argentine handler, Diego Garcia.
Registered name: GCH CH Brighton Lakeridge Encore
Better known as: Ally
Breed: Standard Poodle
Owners: T Sosnoff/M Sosnoff
Caption: Dueling elements at play here: the largest win photo of any ad in the top 10, and a close-up of one of the most unbelievable glamour shots of any show dog out there. That, folks, is professional grooming.
Registered name: GCH CH Banana Joe V. Tani Kazari
Better known as: Joey
Breed: Affenpinscher
Owners: Zoila Truesdale & Mieke Cooymans
Caption: USA! Good old patriotism seems to be the theme for Banana Joe, which is funny since he’s a Dutch-born dog with a Mexican handler. But it makes sense when you consider that after dominating Europe through the early part of 2010, Joey arrived in America and has been winning Bests in Show ever since.
Registered name: GCH CH Jaset's Satisfaction
Better known as: London
Breed: Standard Poodle
Owners: Beth Harris, Michele Molnar, Jamie Danburg
Caption: It’s a Valentine’s theme for the reigning AKC Eukanuba National Champion—a beautiful black standard poodle with the lustrous poof that Little Richard always strived for. This is dog ad as love letter.
Registered name: GCH CH Starline's Chanel
Better known as: Chanel
Breed: Whippet
Owners: Lori Lawrence, Cari Lawrence, Nicole Lawrence
Caption: The owners of the most successful whippet of all time went for volume with their pre-Westminster ad—that’s 18 individual shots of this elegant wisp of a dog, plus a few shots with her handler, Lori Wilson. You’ll notice only a single win photo, because when you’ve won as often as Chanel has, you no longer worry much about impressing judges.
Registered name: GCH CH Northgate's As You Like It
Better known as: Qing
Breed: Pharaoh Hound
Owners: Jenny Hall, Annica Lundqvist-Hemstrom
Caption: Oh, Qing, you beautiful, unpronounceable, half-Swedish Pharaoh hound! Qing enjoys winning dog shows, his handler Brian Livingston and long walks on the beach. Special bonus points for being the only dog, and handler, in the top 10 with their own logos.
Registered name: GCH CH Saks Hamelot Little Drummer Boy
Better known as: Drummer
Breed: Bichon Frise
Owners: Barbara Weidner, L Darman, K Griffin, C Ruggles
Caption: This would fall under the category of advertising as play on words—also, anthropomorphizing. Drummer, the top-ranked Bichon, No. 2–ranked nonsporting dog, and obvious candidate as spokesdog for a powerful-hold hairspray, probably doesn’t actually play drums, but wouldn’t he be cute if he did? Are those flowers growing out of a cowboy boot? They sure are. Because it’s Texas.
