WOOF'S THE BOSS

Storm, a 40kg doberman with a piercing stare and ears pointed like arrow tips, was a dog in demand.

- Anika Burgess

Borzois Vosmol and Vershok compete in the brace category at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York on Feb 14, 1967. The year 2026 is the 150th anniversary of the Westminster dog show, one of the oldest and most prestigious dog shows in the world.

(PHOTO: BARTON SILVERMAN/NYTIMES)

Just before winning his second consecutive best in show title at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1953, he was profiled in Life magazine and in The New York Times Magazine.

He had sat, like a good boy, on a tapestry for the photographer Philippe Halsman and on an armchair for Sam Falk.

But at the dog show, he stood in front of the assembled photographers like the champion that he was: head raised, eyes alert, minimal drool.

"He knows what a flashbulb is," Storm's owner said in the Life interview. "He's a real ham."

The year 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the Westminster dog show, one of the oldest and most prestigious dog shows in the world.

It is also highly photogenic: a red-carpet gala, sporting event and fashion show all rolled into a three-day extravaganza. Or, as John Ashbey, the Westminster Dog Show's official photographer for 50 years, said: "It's a beauty contest."

While the job of official photographer to Westminster dates back to around the 1930s, the event started in 1877. There were two shows held in 1884.

More than 1,000 dogs participated in that first show, including five enormous mastiffs who arrived by boat from England. An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 spectators attended the first evening of the show, according to the Times, where the speeches were drowned out by the sound of the competitors' howling.

Since then, both the competition and the number of spectators have grown.