A stunning 14-inch Beagle, Miss P, won the top honor at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last week, beating more than 2,700 competitors. Miss P, coming straight from Vancouver, BC, was awarded the Best in Show prize at the 139th Westminster show, the second-longest continuously running sporting event in the United States> after the Kentucky Derby.
Miss P was born in 2010 from Lori and Kaitlyn Crandlemore, two wonderful dog breeders, who quickly appointed William Alexander, known as the “Wayne Gretzky of dog shows“, to make their beautiful puppy a shining star in the most renowned dog shows and competitions.
[pullquote-left]What’s next for Miss P? Motherhood.[/pullquote-left] Four years later, Miss P’s trophy room is filled with 19 Best in Show titles and her most delicious dream came true on the 17th of February 2015 when the superstar Miss P was awarded Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show in New York thanks to William Alexander’s input.
She is just the second beagle to win the title since the first show in 1877. Oh and… the last Beagle who won in 2008 is a close relative of Miss P! Great blood running through this family…
MacLeans’s has published a great interview of Miss P’s celebrity handler William Alexander and here are some great parts. You can read the full interview here.
Beagles are members of the hound group, easily distracted by their acute sense of smell. Is this something that’s difficult to deal with when you’re training them for shows?
Yes, Miss P’s food drive is incredible. The No. 1 drive for all beagles is food. That’s one thing that’s definitely a challenge, but it’s something that can also work in my favour. Food is something I know they love, and I use it to encourage good behaviour. I love working with beagles because their personalities are great; they aren’t afraid of anything, and they’re a very proud breed. That’s what beagles are all about.
Miss P’s puppies will be sold at an unbelievable price and Beagle breeders already explained that the Beaglemania has start last week and it is not easy to cope with the sudden surge in the demand. Let’s hope this does not encourage unethical breeding and puppy mills.
What’s next for Miss P?
Motherhood. We’re going to find an appropriate husband for her and [I hope] she will continue a wonderful line of Beagles. We’re still undecided about where she will end up. I’m sure Kaitlyn and her mom would like to see her back home in B.C. She and I will continue to go to shows together. It still hasn’t hit me that we won, and I’m sure I’ll sit up in bed one day soon and finally realize that I won Westminster. Well, Miss P did. I’m just along for the ride.
Featured image credits to Frank Franklin II/AP.