***Well, the beautiful Golden was the crowd favorite!***
Goldens are always a crowd favorite. Every extremely popular breed is. Dermott the Pug was faulted for his behaviour on the table.
At the BIS level you can make no mistakes and reacting negatively to the judge just ain't ever a good idea ;)
FWIW, Dermott the Pugs problem began last year when a judge accidently poked him in the mouth hard enough with her fingernail to caus him to wrench his neck and back bad enough to need a chiropractor.
See my own beautiful showdogs by clicking on my screenname!
Your Beagles are gorgeous! Congratulations -- it's quite a family.
Oh, and it was noticeable this time that the Golden was the crowd favorite because the poor Goldens are always overlooked and seldom make it to BIS. Those of us who only watch on TV seldom get to see a Golden in action! Some of the shows even hide the footage of the Goldens behind a commercial break!
I love all the dogs, but personally I was thrilled to see the Golden make into the BIS ring. However, I've seen prettier Goldens than the example at Westminister this year. The Goldens from Honey Lane Kennels locally are simply gorgeous, but they possess a little more fur than I would want to deal with on an everyday basis. They look like big Teddy Bears and are pale blonde in color. THeir legs are a little shorter (like the one in BIS) and their fur is very thick. I've trained with a couple of them.
Mine is red gold, on the tall side, but he has a calm demeanor and the most regal head I've ever seen on a Golden. He was just a poor stray that I adopted from the Rescue organization, but he's the love of my life.
He has a bright blue coat I made for him with G. W. Bush bumper stickers sewed on the sides. He wore it in 4 parades in 2004!
He rode on a float in 3 of them -- even in the pouring rain -- and sat there just like he was king of the hill. The children just loved him, and some people are still talking about it.
We handed out Milk Bones in baggies, with a picture of W and Barney enclosed, to all the people who had brought their dogs to watch the parade. Our message was from Barney and asked the people to re-elect his human.