National Show contestants were judged on their overall appearance, temperament and structure according to the official standard of their breed.
“Compact, features, movement – everything a pug should be,” said Best in Show judge George Milutinovich in a press release. Vito was chosen ahead of a top Welsh Terrier, a Giant Schnauzer, a Clumber Spaniel, a Lhasa Apso, a Berger Picard and an Ibiza Hound.
“I’ve never seen him before. Wow. Just wow. A lot of dog in a small package,” said Milutinovich. “Looking at a pug is putting a smile on your face.”
“I was optimistic,” Vito’s handler, Michael Scott of Chesapeake City, Maryland, said in a news release. “I always hope to get a really good look (from the judge). …Vito has a beautiful head and expression. Great outline.”
Vito earned Koch and co-owners Joy Barbieri and Rebecca Movall of Stanfordville, New York, a $20,000 prize. Barbieri and Movall could not immediately be reached for comment.
Reserve Best of Show (second place) went to a Welsh terrier named Verde and handler Gabriel Rangel of Rialto, California.
About 2,000 dogs gathered at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center for this year’s exhibition, which has been held annually since 1933 and was first held in 1879.
The National Dog Show is a purebred exhibition conducted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and sanctioned by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Any dog registered with the AKC can participate in the competition.
