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 Miss P, from Vancouver, British Columbia, was awarded the Best in
Show prize at the 139th Westminster show, the second-longest
continuously running sporting event in the United States after the
Kentucky Derby.
"She's a princess," handler Will Alexander said about Miss P, who
enjoys eating liver and sleeping on Alexander's pillow at night.
Miss P is the second beagle ever to take home the Westminster Best
In Show prize, behind her relative, Uno, who won in 2008, said show
co-host David Frei.
"This is very exciting," Frei said, while standing in front of Miss
P. The tri-colored canine barked excitedly while being draped in
purple ribbons.
A long-haired, foot-tall Skye terrier, called Charlie, was
runner-up.
Nearly 200 dog breeds and varieties from 15 countries and all U.S.
states except North Dakota and Idaho competed in the two-day event
at New York's Piers 92 and 94 and Madison Square Garden.
 As part of the show, judges selected the best of each breed and
group, divided into seven categories - hound, toy, non-sporting,
herding, sporting, working and terrier.
On Monday, the first night of events, Miss P won in the hound group;
a dark and puffy standard poodle named Flame won in the non-sporting
group; Swagger, a friendly 110-pound old English sheepdog won in the
herding group; and a silky-haired shih tzu named Rocket won in the
toy group.
Rocket, who wore a sparkling ponytail, is co-owned by Patricia
Hearst Shaw, the 60-year-old publishing heiress famous for being
kidnapped by, and then apparently joining, the Symbionese Liberation
Army in the 1970s.
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An English springer spaniel, named Liz, won the sporting group;
Charlie, won in the terrier group; and a Portuguese water dog, named
Matisse, won in the working group on Tuesday evening.
Matisse, who was considered a show favorite, is a relative of U.S.
President Barack Obama's family dog, Sunny. "This will be his last
Westminster," said handler Michael Scott.
Ahead of the judging, dogs snacked, rested and endured photographs
alongside their owners.
"He loves to pose," Denise Wilczewski, from Wall Township in New
Jersey, said about her 160-pound komondor, Chauncey, who had won
best in breed with his white dreadlock-like hair fanned out at his
sides.
Best in Show prize was won last year by Sky, a wire fox terrier from
California. The winner gets a trophy and embarks on a media tour.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Alan Crosby and Richard
Pullin)
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