The Penn Plaza Pavilion at New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania is where the specialty shows are held prior to Westminster. We arrived around 9:30AM for the show. The lobby was already loaded with dogs and bellmen pushing carts overflowing with suitcases and dog supplies. Most people choose to stay at this hotel because the rooms are large and cheap. The hotel is a dump but it is convenient if you are going to the shows there.
The Progressive Dog Club is for toy dogs only. I have been going to this show for five years and the outcome is always predictable. The same people win every year. Is it political? Yes, it is! This is where the heavy hitters come to play. There are a lot of professionals but also Chihuahua royalty. There are breeders who have managed to take over, all of the top winning dogs are related in some way. The same names appear again and again. You see the kennel names, Dartan and Dazzels in the pedigrees of almost half of the dogs entered. The kennel owners attend the shows, some even show their own dogs. They are the older generation that were willing to share their breeding stock which is a good thing. Some of the smaller breeders I know would never share. In order to succeed you have to pay your respect to them to be part of the club. That’s fine, I guess I’m just not a club person. I want to be able to do it on my own. So, I ask myself; Why am I here? Last year I vowed I would skip these shows.
I know my dog is as nice if not nicer then any of the dogs that win. Rocky did not win anything but I did see some old friends even though but a lot of people just don’t go any more. We were done by noon. I took Rocky back to the room to rest and we went out to lunch.
The highlights of the weekend always involve food! We ate at one of our favorite places; Artisanal, which is within walking distance. A glass of French wine with mussels always makes me feel better. In the evening we attended the NY Pet Fashion Show. The theme this year was royalty, clearly some people have been planning their outfits for months. Rocky wore a royal blue and gold prince outfit with a crown. I wore a tiara and jeans. Most of the women wore full length gowns, big wigs and crowns with jewels. Their dogs were were also dressed to match. The most impressive was a Marie Antoinette look alike with a white powdered wig, her tiny Chihuahua also has a tiny wig. They were lit up as well with a strand of twinkling white lights, very impressive. There was a Ghengis Kahn entourage complete with a gong and two dogs with turbans. There was a terrier in pearls, a pom in a bag and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. The food spread was generous with hot and cold appetizers. Rocky was tired and bored so we left before it was over. Several photographers took pictures of him. Maybe we will be on TV.