Sadie the Scottie wins at Westminster after protest
NEW YORK — A Scottish terrier won America’s top dog show Tuesday, and that was pretty predictable. What happened moments before Sadie took the title at Westminster was far more startling.
Two women walked into the center ring at Madison Square Garden and held up signs that said “Mutts Rule” and “Breeders Kill Shelter Dogs’ Chances,” the latter a slogan popularized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
A crowd of 15,000 gasped, then booed the women and cheered as security ushered them away without incident.
Moments later, the 4-year-old Sadie ascended the best in show ring where one of the women had stood.
Sadie was a big favorite coming into the show, which is for purebred dogs. There have been previous protests at Westminster, but none nearly this dramatic. As a matter of course, the public-address announcer at the Garden reads an announcement urging people to visit shelters and adopt their dogs.
Sadie, a Scottish terrier, is the subject of photographers after winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams) Photo by FRE
Gabriel Rangel shows Sadie, a Scottish Terrier, in the ring during the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) Photo by STF