Vanity Fair
I was advised before entering the stalls of competitors at the Westminster dog show to think of the dogs as celebrities. Some were friendly and ready to socialize, like Habiba, a Sloughi who somehow managed to still be charming after 12 hours in a crate from Los Angeles to New York City.
Others were standoffish and would give you their backs; even the ones with the fussiest hairdos were warm and welcoming. Twinkle, a Brussels Griffon, met my gaze as members of her entourage lifted each of her little limbs, one by one, and placed them back down — "She’s doing her yoga," the attendant explained.
A dachshund mid-neck trim, a Norwich terrier undergoing a sponge bath and an Old English sheepdog with some serious rolling around to do: not a one declined to sniff my hand. My mind kept drifting to Best in Show, Christopher Guest’s 2000 mockumentary about handlers and dogs at a Westminster-like competition.
United States, Los Angeles, New York City