Westminster Kennel Club sets plans for its 150th dog show next year

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NEW YORK (AP) — It's still just 21 in dog years.

But the Westminster Kennel Club is gearing up for its 150th annual dog show next year and announced plans Tuesday for the milestone event, expected to draw about 3,000 champion dogs.

It's slated to start Jan. 31 with agility and other canine sports, including the relay-race-style flyball tournament introduced last year, at the Javits Center convention venue in Manhattan.

The traditional breed-by-breed judging happens Feb. 2 and 3, with first-round competition during the days at the Javits Center.

The show moves in the evenings to nearby Madison Square Garden. U.S. dogdom's most storied best in show trophy will be awarded late on Feb. 3 by David Fitzpatrick, who handled two of his Pekingese to Westminster wins in 2012 and 2021.

The Westminster show began in 1877 and has been held every year since. In 2020, it happened about a month before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. New York shutdowns began soon after.

The show regularly draws protests from animal welfare activists who consider dog breeding wrongheaded and insensitive to shelter animals that need homes. Westminster says it celebrates all dogs while promoting the preservation of “purpose-bred” canines, with their varying traits, capabilities and histories.