A beagle finally wins top honours at Westminster dog show and competes again tonight

Of the many breeds that have never won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is the beagle. Through 131 previous editions, no beagle has celebrated what terriers have more than 40 times.

Have all of Snoopy’s efforts at beagle hegemony gone for naught?

On Monday, at Madison Square Garden, a nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall beagle named Uno took one small step toward the coveted title for his breed by winning the hound group, the first beagle to do so since 1939.

Eddie Dziuk, one Uno’s owners, could not explain why a beagle, whether 13 or 15 inches high, has never reached the summit. "Others this special," he said, looking at Uno after his victory, "are few and far between."

Uno, or Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, was the sixth-ranked dog in the country last year, according to Dog News, after a toy poodle, an Akita, a standard poodle, a Sealyham terrier and an English springer spaniel.

On Monday night, he defeated 25 other dogs, including a long-haired dachshund, a harrier and a whippet.

"He was his usual self," said Aaron Wilkerson, his handler, as Uno relaxed contentedly in his arms. "Perfect, as always."

At some point when he shows, Uno bays, for no reason other than to say his piece. It was more of a croon than a bark that he emitted from the green carpeted floor of the Garden. And he did it several times.

"He bayed at the judge," Wilkerson said. "He does it on his own. He’s saying to the judge, ’Look at me.’ So he just plants his feet and bays away."

The judge, Ralph Lemcke, said he had no memory of being bayed at. But he said he will remember Uno, whom he had never seen before.

"This is one of the best hounds I’ve ever seen," he said. He, too, had no explanation for Westminster’s best-in-show beagle shutout.

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A cream-colored standard poodle named Remy, whose hairstyle resembles a cross between a Victorian magistrate and a young Farrah Fawcett, will face off tonight against an ebullient beagle and five other purebreds for the top prize at New York's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Uno the beagle is vying to be first of his breed to win Westminster, which held its first show in 1877. A standard poodle last won in 1991 and a miniature poodle was best in show in 2002.

"The beagle and the standard are my favorites'' to win, said David Sombach, a former handler who now works as a photographer for ``Canine Chronicle'' and other pooch publications.