The 138th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC!

The 138th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC.

In 1877, New York was well on its way to becoming the world's greatest city. This was the year that a group of sporting gentlemen decided that this would be a good time to hold a dog show in Manhattan. It didn't take long before the Westminster Kennel Club, following the lead of its home town, would be on its way to becoming the world's greatest dog show.

With its spectacular beginnings and extraordinary growth in the years to follow, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was quickly reflecting the growth and success of New York City. As the dog show grew every year, so did the Westminster Kennel Club's position as the symbol of the purebred dog, with its influence being felt in show rings everywhere, and eventually in millions of television homes across the country. Westminster has become America's Dog Show.

It was at one of those meetings that the members decided that they would stage a dog show so that they could compare their dogs in a setting away from the field. The First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs, given under the auspices of the Westminster Kennel Club, was staged in 1877 at Gilmore's Garden (the forerunner of Madison Square Garden) in New York City, drawing an entry of 1,201 dogs.

The most-coveted award in the dog show world, Best In Show at Westminster, was given for the first time in 1907. That year, and for the next two years as well, it went to a Smooth Fox Terrier bitch named Ch. Warren Remedy. She remains the only dog every to win three times.

Six other dogs have won Best In Show twice, the most recent being the English Springer Spaniel, Ch. Chinoe's Adamant James in 1971 and 1972.