Best Dog

The judge had a ticklish task. Which one of the six dogs would he choose? English setter, wire-haired dachshund, Welsh terrier, Brussels griffon, standard poodle or Doberman pinscher? Each dog had been trained to the tail tip, each had survived a two-day ordeal of poking and prodding by judges. Each was the best of its breed and the best of its group. Now, from all the 2,451 dogs originally entered last week in the 76th annual Westminster Kennel Club Show at Madison Square Garden, the judge had to choose one as the best of all.

As Judge Joseph Sims paced to & fro, his eye kept turning to the Doberman, Champion Rancho Dobe's Storm. Earlier, in the tense semifinal of the group judging, Storm had beaten the defending champion boxer, Bang Away of Sirrah Crest. Standing still as a statue, the Doberman moved only his head. He was keeping an eye on the judge. After only 15 minutes, one of the shortest final deliberations in Westminster records, Judge Sims gave the Doberman the nod. Storm promptly jumped up & down and pawed and licked his handler--just as if he knew he had won. Owner Len Carey bought him as a puppy, sight unseen, and has kept him in show trim by exercising him in Manhattan's Central Park. Carey, an advertising executive, was not surprised at his dog's triumph: "He's strictly a ham. He knows what a flashbulb is."

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