The Monkey Cage

Westminster’s “Best in Show.”

Not ncessarily the best dog — in dog shows, the standard is how close the dog is to its breed standard, so this beagle was a better exemplar of its breed than any other dog was of its breed. So if you think, say, golden retrievers are preferable to beagles, then you might want to argue that a mediocre golden retriever is better than a great beagle.

Anyway, although I’m not a great fan of beagles, which I tend to regard as basset wannabes, I must say that when I first saw Uno in the hounds competition, I immediately said “That’s the one.” For a beagle, he’s a great-looking dog, and he has that showmanship and feistiness that usualy stands terrriers in such good stead in dog shows. This year, being a great beagle was good enough to make him Numero Uno.

P.S. I wouldn’t have posted on this subject because I just did a cat post, but my co-bloggers expected it of me and I didn’t want to disappoint them.