For the first time since the annual National Dog Show began broadcasting on Thanksgiving in 2002, a pug has been crowned best in show.
Vito the Pug won first prize in the competition in Philadelphia on Thursday, beating out more than 1,900 dogs representing more than 200 breeds and varieties.
“Compact, features, movement — everything a pug should be,” judge George Milutinovich told NBC, which broadcasts the dog event each year. “To look at a pug is to put a smile on your face.”
Vito, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, beat second-place finisher Verde, a Welsh Terrier, to win the Best in Show title. Other finalists included a Berger Picard, an Ibizan Hound, a Lhasa Apso, a Clumber Spaniel and a Giant Schnauzer.
Vito, who also won the toy group at Thursday’s event, has a history of success in major dog shows. Earlier this year, he won Best of Breed at the Westminster Dog Show in New York, and the same honor at last year’s National Dog Show.
In all, he has accumulated 25 Best-in-Shows in his life, even though he is only 2 1/2 years old.
“I still hope to get a really good look [from the judge]”, Michael Scott, Vito’s manager, told NBC News. “Vito has a nice face and a nice expression. Great insight.
The National Dog Show wasn’t a major showcase until the early 2000s, when NBC purchased the broadcast rights to the competition and began airing it live after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In the past 22 years, no pug had won Best in Show until Vito’s victory on Thursday.
Vito’s co-owners — Carolyn Koch, Joy Barbieri and Rebecca Movall — won a $20,000 prize.
