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She’s four years old and just snagged the top prize at one of the longest continuously held sporting events in the United States.
Penny the Doberman — born and bred in the GTA — bested over 2,500 dogs and 200 breeds at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held in New York. She beat out six other finalists at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
For anyone in the sport of purebred dogs, it’s like winning the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup, says her co-owner and breeder, Theresa Connors-Chan.
“I think I cried for about a half hour, just out of pure excitement and joy,” she said.
Penny is the fifth Doberman in the competition’s history to win the best-in-show title, which is the competition’s most coveted prize.
“The character, the confidence, the presence, she’s the whole package,” said Donald G. Sturz, president of the Westminster Kennel Club.
During the competition, each dog is judged according to how closely it matches the ideal for its breed. The winner gets a champion’s lunch, trophy, ribbons, bragging rights and, this year, the distinction of winning the milestone 150th annual Westminster show.
Westminster wins tend to go to pooches with professional handlers or owners with decades or even generations of experience. But just reaching the elite, champions-only show is seen as a major accomplishment.
Connors-Chan says she expects a lot of interest in the Doberman breed now that Penny won. She’s been breeding dogs with her husband for almost 14 years in Durham Region and described Penny as “the best of what we’ve ever bred.”
“They’re really smart dogs — smarter than most of the people that want them sometimes,” she joked.
Connors-Chan says Penny has now won 66 all breed best-in-show competitions in the U.S. But she says it’s time for Penny to retire, after competing with her handler for two years.
The plan now is to get her certified with the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program, and hopefully have some puppies, says Connors-Chan.
“It’s time for her to come home,” she said.
