Miss P Wins: Canadian Beagle Is Top Dog At 139th Westminster Dog Show

Miss P is a name you might be hearing recently. Miss P, a beagle, is now a superstar thanks to winning “Best in Show” in the annual Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday. The win is considered historic, as a beagle winning the competition is considered rare. In fact, the last time a beagle won the competition was in 2008. The winner that time was Uno, Miss P’s grand-aunt. Another reason why Miss P’s win was exciting because she was up against tough competition.

Miss P advanced to the final round after defeating Nathan the bloodhound back on Monday. The beagle faced off against some favorites in the seven-dog lineup of the finals. Swagger, an old English sheepdog, was considered the crowd favorite. Miss P also went up against Matisse (a Portuguese water dog and cousin of Sunny Obama) and Rocket (a shih tzu co-owned by Patty Hearst)

Other Competitors

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According to Miss P’s handler, William Alexander, the beagle was scheduled to retire into motherhood after the Westminster Dog Show no matter the outcome. The “Best in Show” winner is co-owned by the mother and daughter team of Lori and Kaitlyn Crandlemire from Enderby, British Columbia. Another co-owner is American breeder Eddie Dziuk, who also co-owns Uno.

When asked about what it was about Miss P that bagged her the win, Alexander said, “She is a princess. It’s all about her. She’s so demanding. She thinks she’s the biggest dog in the dog show. I’ve shown her before where she gets so mad at the dog she’s behind that she grumbles and marches around. She wants to be the one.”

With Miss P winning at the Westminster Dog Show, breeders have reported receiving calls and emails from people looking for beagle pups.”I don’t usually watch the dog shows but I flipped to it earlier in the night but actually missed the announcement,” said Dave Young of Sweet Pea Kennels. “Normally, we don’t get calls like that late at night. It’s amazing how [Westminster] was almost like free advertising for us.”

Scott Bachman of Bachman’s Kennel is also pleasantly surprised about the sudden interest in beagles. According to Bachman, beagles are not only perfect for family life but are also good when it comes to hunting (something that beagles were originally bred to do). “I think if people realized what kind of family dogs beagles are, they would be the most popular dogs in the country,” Bachman said.

[Main image via YouTube, images of dogs via Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Facebook]