A DOG HAS HIS DAY

By Steve Wulf

As Ethel Barrymore and Molly Picon looked on, another great performer sat at the head of his table at Sardi's and devoured his chopped sirloin--very rare--from a silver platter. One might have been tempted to say Pa was a lucky dog, but there was no luck involved in being the guest of honor at the annual Dog Fanciers Club luncheon. It took 500 years of breeding, 90 years of experience and one squeaky toy to get Pa this special meal. "Actually," said Pa's "ma," Rita Holloway, "he likes his hamburger cooked, with a little salt and pepper."

Twelve hours earlier, Pa, a.k.a. Ch. Parsifal Di Casa Netzer, a five-year-old standard schnauzer, had been judged best-in-show at the 121st Westminster Kennel Club show, the second oldest sporting event in North America. (The Kentucky Derby is older by one year.) For two days every year, Madison Square Garden becomes the friendliest place in the world. Last week some 2,500 dogs, representing 156 breeds, descended upon the Garden, each hoping to work its way through the canine justice system: best of breed, best of group, best-in-show. Pa was one of the favorites, having defeated 93,725 other dogs in shows last year. But no standard schnauzer had ever won Westminster, and included among the seven finalists was one--just one--Dalmatian that had beaten Pa before: Ch. Spotlight's Spectacular. "Pa's the best dog I've ever seen," Roy Holloway said after he won best in breed, "but you just have to hope the judge feels the same way."

Old as it is, Westminster is still gaining in popularity. A record 2.7 million households tuned in to the two nights of coverage on the USA network, and for the third year in a row the dogs beat ESPN's star-studded ESPY Awards in the ratings. Not that Westminster doesn't have its stars. Bill Cosby owns a highly regarded lakeland terrier, Greg Louganis entered a Rhodesian Ridgeback and Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre's cousin, C.J. Favre, showed a puli and a Kerry blue. In general, there is an appealing warp to the woof at Westminster: Where else can you find society matrons whooping it up with 4-H Clubbers, or vendors bellowing "Champagne here"? A vendor named Jerry hawks the catalog by calling out "Get your Bow-Wow Bible, your Doggy Diary, your Beagle Bugle, your Tibetan Terrier Torah, your..."

The sheet on the schnauzer is that it dates back to the 15th century. Rembrandt painted them, and barons employed packs of schnauzers to patrol the castle and catch rats, which explains why Holloway carries around a furry little squeaky toy in his pocket. Sometimes called the dog with the human brain, the standard schnauzer is not to be confused with his toy and giant cousins. Pa's history dates back to Italy, where he was bred by Gabrio Del Torre, who saw the dog's potential and shipped him to the best schnauzer handler he could find in the U.S., Doug Holloway. "Parla English, Italian," Del Torre said of Pa.

Doug himself is the product of breeding--his father Roy has been in the dog business for 50 years. In fact, Roy was Westminster's best-in-show judge last year, and to avoid a conflict, Pa was not entered, even though he was the top working dog in the country. Between them, father and son have 85 years in show biz.

"Because I've known the Holloways for so long," said Dorothy Collier, this year's best-in-show judge, "I wanted to avoid showing favoritism. Pa needed to be perfect--and he was." When her decision was announced, the Holloways and Del Torres converged on Pa and son and made a pretty good fuss. Pa looked slightly embarrassed. "This is the greatest moment of my life," said Roy.

The next day it was off to the talk shows and Sardi's. On Thursday, Rita and Doug took Pa back to their Rainbow Kennels in Newark, Delaware. There waiting for him were balloons and flowers and champagne--and colleagues barking their congratulations. Pa will now go into semiretirement, shuttling back and forth between Delaware and Italy, commanding a $1,000 stud fee. "One thing won't change," said Doug. "He's still going to be my best friend."