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20th Century Fox, Getty Images
Clockwise, from left: Chewie, an Ewok and Malachy, the Pekingese.
Malachy is one perfect Pekingese. When the gorgeous Westminster Dog Show-winning pooch appeared on TODAY Wednesday, the TODAY.com team let out a collective "awwww." I mean, look at him!
Live Poll
Would you pick a Pekingese for a pet?
And then we thought, wait. Look at him. Maybe we're just a bunch of "Star Wars" fanatics, but isn't it possible that Malachy is...the love child of Chewbacca and an Ewok?
We kid, of course. Congrats to Malachy – whose owner said he's a big TODAY fan – and all the other pups who earned a spot in the Westminster ring!
On our Facebook page, you weighed in. Lisa Kelley agreed, "he does look like an Ewok, very cute." And Joy Windle said he looks like "an animated tuffet." And proud Pekingese owner Lisa McCaughey Enfinger said "beauty is in the eye of the beholder...These dogs may be tiny and ugly to some, but they have the heart of a lion...Loyal and and fearless."
And our apologies to Kat Lauterback, who recorded Westminster and hasn't watched yet! Sorry for the spoiler alert, DVR dog show fans! Watch Malachy's TODAY appearance here:
Read more about Westminster:
- Crowd-favorite Pekingese takes Best in Show
- Slideshow: Westinster Kennel Club Dog Show
- Martha Stewart's dog among winners at Westminster
- Check out the Animal Tracks slideshow!
TODAY.com multimedia producer Mish Whalen is thrilled that the fairest dog in the land was won by Malachy the Pekingese; nice job! Discuss this post in the comments section or hit me on Twitter @mishrwhalen
Leave a Comment:
I think this was a poor pick for "BEST IN SHOW" Come on. I have seen that dog before .. Looks like the ET creature when he was dressed up in Drew Barrymore's characters clothes and a wig. There were so many muscular, beautiful specimans of dogs there and this biased judge goes and picks an alien dust mop that could barely wobble his way around the arena... Very sad! One of these days would like to see a REAL dog win... like a GREAT DANE or a GOLDEN RETRIEVER... Kind of sick of alien looking dust mops representing. : )
I had two Peks for years, and I absolutely loved them. It's true that you have to brush them often. They have a TREMENDOUS amount of hair. The Pek I had for years (mother & daughter) was very cute, and looked nothing like this show one. Most Peks are not all that cute, but when they are cute, they are CUTE CUTE CUTE.
That's not fair, they are beautiful, loyal dogs. It is not an 'alien dust mop'....until you've been 'owned' by a Pekingese don't put them down!
I think Malachy is a beautiful Peke, but he DOES resemble a tribble with legs.
That dog was hideous. It looked like an Alien. I've seen things that look like that. It's in the closet next to the broom. It's called a mop.
I thought this was a photo shoot for Ann Coulter...
That is one ugly dog!
I agree. Ann Coulter is an ugly b..ch.
I think he's a cutie even if we were rooting for the German Shepard to win.
As for spoilers, once something has aired, I think it's fair game. If you have recorded and don't want to be spoiled, stay off the net for God's sake! It's your responsibility not to go places where you might get spoiled if it's that important to you. I'm so sick to death of the spoiler whiners. Grow up. Oh, and by the way, spoiler whiners...Darth Vader is Luke's father. :oP
This engenders a lot of suspicion in the judging process at dog shows. What the hell do they look for anyway? Every one of the finalists were in perfect condition and how do they find a judge that knows so much about so many breeds? IMO it's just a spur-of-the-moment decision based on nothing. Martha's Chow was my choice and he didn't even make it to the semis.
His face is what won it for him and who could not go for it. The way he carried himself accross the stage was evident of his heritage. He is a beautiful example of Peke and they are a very sweet dog. I own a Shiz Tzu which the line is part Peke and they have the personality of a kid. They are very precious dogs and they love everyone. He definitely has my vote!
With all of that gnarly hair hanging around its face, it looks like model/spokesman/roller-coaster-goose-crash survivor Fabio.
All I know, is that I am not spending more time to groom a dog's head of hair then it takes to do my own.
There is far too much 'politics' in the judging. This is supposed to be the #1 or #2 'show' dog in the US the past year. I couldn't believe it when the dog was picked 'Best in Group', and was floored when chosen 'Best in Show'.
At some point in time, you have to ask the obvious question: 'In this many years of Westminster Dog Shows, how is it that the Golden Retriever, Dalmation and several other breeds have never managed to be selected as Best in Show?
On the other hand, I don't know how you can reliably select one breed over another in either a 'group' or Best in Show.
Actually, there's nothing that says it needs to be #1 or #2. The Best in Show is exactly that: the dog out of the finalists that best fits the breed's standard. Personally, I thought the dachshund was the best, but then I know that standard, whereas I don't know some of the others. I saw nothing whatsoever about her that didn't fit the standard perfectly.
As for why some dogs haven't won, I think -- totally a guess -- that's it's because some breeders have had more years to develop specimens that are closer to the breed standard. I've also seen where breeding FOR a particular standard characteristic also ends up adding an unwanted characteristic. Dog breeds that have been around longer and been worked on longer have a better chance of perfectly meeting the standard.
I vote for Ann Coulter...Best In Show!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I have seen that dog before. Hasn't he won another recent dog show within the last year or two?
The bias is toward smaller breeds...possibly because they are 'cute'.
WMDS has crowned some large breeds in recent years (finally) but the little ones win more often.
The hearding group has won exactly once since the seven groups were established (almost 30 years ago).
My first pick was the Doberman, then a tie between Dalmation & GS. (My bias is toward Boxer, Weimeraner, GS, and Lab. I like 'real' dogs that can go somewhere & do something OUTSIDE.)
Kathyp - I do believe that in order to compete @ Westminster the dog has to have won Best of Breed at another dog show within a year. There are lots and lots of dog shows every weekend. I had a friend who raised all three varieties of Afghan hounds and Great Danes. She was always on the road with her dogs.
I had a friend who had a Peke...Ming Toy. Ming had a dual personality...good dog/bad dog..HA! HA!...but was very pretty none the less. I thought this Peke might win the minute he came out, sort of like the year that Rufus, the bull terrier won. Rufus wasn't gorgeous, but he had great attitude..he was a STAR!
I thought that some of the new recognized breeds were interesting. The breed from Mexico (sorry, can't spell it's name ) was a beautiful dog, and I was rooting for it to win the breed category...maybe next year.
Unfortunately it's impossible to determine which dog was Best in Show by simply looking/watching on TV since the conformation to standard can only be determined by including the physical inspection in the decision, especially in the case of hairy messes (LOL).
I'm a large breed fan myself. Mom and grandparents had show dogs. It is a very political sport. Owners/Breeders keep track of the judge's preferences and don't bother entering shows with judges who don't like their 'type'. Mom's breeder friends would also get one another to enter/show their dogs in a particular show in order to 'build a major' for one another's dogs. I, personally, value a dog's achievements in obedience and agility more than show ring success. That is not to say conformation to standard isn't important. It is. I just like my dogs to also have a brain. That being said, any dog who gets an invite to this show is tops in that particular breed.
As for MSG's placing toy/small breed dogs as Best in Show so frequently, I'd guess that the cuteness factor and the continuing wide interest and love of the toy/small breed breeds helps bring in (lots) of folks who would otherwise not be interested in watching a dog show. So if there is a bias towards toy/small breeds, it would play into the popularity of the show in a positive way for the show. Lots of people watching = more revenue from broadcasting due to increased ad revenue, etc. So, I know 'my' breed will likely never make it to the Best in Show ring. But, I'm ok with that. Breed popularity comes with a high price. Backyard breeders love to breed popular dogs indiscriminately, and that takes the breed down in so many ways. Not the least of which is health wise. So see, it's a good thing that my breed isn't likely to ever be Best in Show at MSG. ;o)
I'm not usually crazy about toy dogs but Malachy is surely the exception. He is GORGEOUS and beautifully behaved to boot. Forget about his lustrous tresses, just look at those heart-breakingly expressive eyes-- darks pools of soulfulness. Bless you, pooch, you'll make an amazing therapy dog
Having watched Westminster and National for years now, I am convinced best in group and best in show are picked in large part by which dog will be easiest for new owners to care for. The judges know that winning breeds see an up-tick in sales that year, and they are scared to pick something too big (for example, any Mastiff breed, even those these are some of the most calm, best with kids and inexperienced owner types) or something that may be difficult to handle.
I am sure that Westminster knows what it's doing in picking that dog as "Best in Show", but I would like to see a dog win that actually looks like a dog. Maybe they show add a new category --- The "Looks Like a Dog Best in Show" category.