Aspiring top dogs (and their owners) will have to wait for the annual Westminster dog show this year, the club says, pointing to rising COVID-19 cases in New York.
The Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show has become the latest event to be postponed or cancelled in New York as the number of coronavirus cases surges.
The club’s board of governors announced Wednesday it was postponing its 2022 event to later in the year. A new date wasn’t given.
“The health and safety of all participants in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show are paramount,” the group said in a statement.
“We appreciate the community’s continued interest and support as we delay the show to a time when we can safely convene.”
The dog show attracts competitors from around the U.S. and is normally held in February at Madison Square Garden.
Last year it was moved to June at the Lyndhurst estate in suburban Tarrytown, north of New York City, where it was held outdoors for the first time since its inception in 1877. Spectators weren’t allowed, and human participants had to be vaccinated or newly tested.
A Pekingese named Wasabi won best in show last year, beating out a whippet, a French bulldog, an old English sheepdog, a German shorthaired pointer, a West Highland white terrier and a Samoyed.
WATCH | Westminster 2021 working group winner has a Toronto connection:
Have you seen Striker, the Samoyed who won the working group at this year’s Westminster Dog Show? His owners, Marc Ralsky and Correen Pacht, live in Toronto. We caught up with Ralsky after the beautiful floof’s big win. 1:30
Wasabi’s grandfather, Malachy, won the best in show title in 2012.
The Samoyed, named Striker, won the working group at the 2021 show. His owners, Marc Ralsky and Correen Pacht, live in Toronto.