Dogs and their handlers return for the 138th year to excitedly attack the obstacle course of jumps, tunnels, and weave poles in the 2014 WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW, premiering LIVE Monday, Feb. 10and Tuesday Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on Discovery World. The Club announced that new Canadian judge, Newfoundland-born breeder-owner-handler and author Betty Regina Leininger, will head a panel of 44 judges from the U.S., Canada, and Ireland for the 2014 Show. The enthusiastic panel will oversee the world’s most famous and prestigious event, held at Madison Square Garden and Piers 92/94 on Manhattan’s West Side. With a total of 190 breeds, the world-renowned dog show will judge canines in categories that include best in group, best of breed, and best in show.
Leininger began her experience in purebred dogs with the breeding and exhibiting of German Shepherd dogs in her native home of Newfoundland. After a career as a paralegal, she moved to the United States and became an AKC-licensed professional handler.
The 2014 WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW is America’s second-longest continuously held sporting event behind only the Kentucky Derby, with the first telecast broadcast in 1948.
Programming note: The encore presentation of the 2014 WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW will air on Discovery World Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT, on Animal Planet Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/ 9p.m. PT, and on Discovery Saturday, Feb. 15 and Sunday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
