Doberman pinscher Penny wins Westminster Kennel Club's Best in Show

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Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A doberman pinscher named Penny won Best in Show on Tuesday night during the 150th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The 4-year-old canine bested the six other group winners to take the prestigious award, making her the 42nd female to win Best in Show and the first Doberman since 1989.

"You can't attribute it to one thing," Penny's handler, Andy Linton, said from the floor following the award ceremony, "but she is as great a Doberman as I've ever seen."

Linton last handled a winning dog in that 1989 competition, walking Royal Tudor's Wild as the Wind to a Best in Show award.

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The veteran handler was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a few years ago. Asked on Tuesday night what it had taken for him to make it back to the winner's circle, an emotional Linton replied: "I had some goals and this was one of them."

The runner-up was Cota, a 5-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, who took the Reserve Best in Show prize.

The two-day competition was streamed live on YouTube.

To make the final round, Penny took the working dog group, while Cota topped the sporting dog category.

"You know, they often say, 'What a great lineup,' but this is one that'll go down in history," judge David Fitzpatrick said before announcing the winner.

Penny showed better than more than 3,000 champion dogs from all 50 states and 17 other countries that competed in the show, whose history dates back to 1877, when it was first held at Gilmore's Garden, an open-air arena that officially became Madison Square Garden in 1879.

Its 150 years makes it the longest continuously held sporting event in the United States, second only to the Kentucky Derby.

For all but 11 of its 150 years, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been held at the Garden.

Scenes from the 2026 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

A Boston Terrier looks up for a treat during the second day of the 150th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at the Javits Center in New York City on February 2, 2026. Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo