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Sadie, the Scottish Terrier has had a fantastic year, pealing off win after win in show after show around the country. She is quite a good little dog also as I did get to pet her and obviously, this year, no other dog deserves it more than her. The fact that she beat all of those other ...dogs... wait a minute! This is a sport, and in a sport there are winners and losers and also in many cases an ultimate champion. I have heard Westminster called the "Super Bowl of Dogs Shows" and I have even called it the "Tournament of Champions" myself. Being that all of the dogs had to be "Champions" to be there I think these descriptions are accurate. However, many people I talk to say "I think the Doberman should have beat those other dogs, or the French Bulldog was better than all the rest in the final ring for "Best of Show." There is nothing wrong with this as we all have our favorites. I thought the Boston terrier should have been in the final "Best In Show" but I am biased and there are a slew of reasons why the Boston terrier breed is a huge long shot to make it to "Best in Show" ...which is a whole other newsletter article. My point here is, and as David Frei has explained to me more than once, the dogs that win their breed and end up in the "Best In Show" ring are not actually competing against the other breeds that are in the ring with them. It is interesting to note, and I have to keep reminding myself of this all the time, that the judge who awards "Best In Show" is looking for the best representation of their respective breed as defined in the breed standard set forth by the AKC. What this means is that Sadie represented the breed standard for Scottish Terriers better (or closer) than all of the other dogs in the ring, on that night, represented their respective breed standards. This is why it is so important for the breeders to know what they are doing as they work so hard to perfect the breed they are interested in.  I have to take the judges word for it because at this point I'm lucky to know half of the names of the breeds, let alone the breed standards. The remarkable thing to me is that these judges have that knowledge accumulated over many years of study, experience, and most of all for the love of what they are doing! Since I have had Butch with me, I now understand how they might feel if only a little bit. Butch is no show dog for obvious reasons but in my book he is a champion!