Contestants at the National Dog Show were judged on overall appearance, temperament, and conformation according to the breed’s official standards.
“It has everything a pug should have: compactness, character, movement,” top judge George Milutinovich said in a news release. Vito was chosen over the top-ranked Welsh Terrier, Giant Schnauzer, Clumber Spaniel, Lhasa Apso, Burger Picard and Ibizan Hound.
“I had never met him before. Wow. That’s amazing. That’s a lot of dog in a small package,” Milutinovic said. “Seeing a pug brings a smile to your face.”
“I was optimistic,” Vito’s trainer Michael Scott of Chesapeake City, Maryland, said in a release. “I always hope to get a really good review (from the judges). … Vito has a beautiful head and facial expressions. Great outline.”
Mr. Vito won a $2,000 prize for Mr. Koch and co-owners Joy Barbieri and Rebecca Moval of Stanfordville, New York.
The show’s top reserve (second place) went to Verde, a Welsh terrier, and handler Gabriel Rangel of Rialto, California.
This year’s show brought about 2,000 dogs to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. The show has been held annually since 1933, the first time being in 1879.
The National Dog Show is an all-breed show run by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and sanctioned by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Any AKC registered dog is welcome.
