Long the province of the purebred, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is opening a doggie door this year to mixed-breed competitors.
While Labradoodles, puggles and who-knows-whats won’t be able to vie for the prestigious Best in Show award, they’ll be included in its new agility trial.
It’s a notable embrace for the nation’s premier canine event, which also is adding three breeds at next month’s show: the chinook, the Portuguese podengo pequeno and the rat terrier. No mixed-breed dogs have appeared anywhere at Westminster since the 138-year-old event’s early days, organizers said at a news conference Wednesday.
But this year, Alfie the apparently-part-poodle, part-terrier will be among the dogs weaving around poles, walking up a plank and springing over jumps on the agility course.
Alfie’s background isn’t rarefied. Owner Irene Palmerini spotted him in a mall pet store, marked down to $99. She wasn’t planning to get a dog, but she felt for the curly-haired, black-and-white puppy and brought him home to Toms River, N.J.
He proved to have more energy than even four-mile daily walks could absorb, and agility training provided an outlet. About seven years later, Palmerini is thrilled that Alfie will be among the mixed-breeds — or “all-American” dogs in Westminster parlance — going up against purebred competitors at the elite event, ABC informs.
