New York dog show honours iconic actress
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show recently took place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The 2026 edition marked the 150th anniversary of the world-famous canine competition that is annually attended by tens of thousands of dog devotees and owners. Trustees of the February event took the opportunity to celebrate the late Canadian and American actress, screenwriter and comedian, Catherine O’Hara, who was a beloved star in the world of pedigree pooches.
While her career spanned more than five decades and saw her work on famous comedy projects like “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone”, O’Hara has been adored by dog breeders for her portrayal of Cookie Fleck, in the 2000 mockumentary “Best in Show”. Set in the competitive world of dog shows, O’Hara played a small-time Florida handler whose four-legged friend Winky makes it through to the final round to take the top prize.
Best in Show starred many famous faces including Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Christopher Guest (who also wrote and directed the film), Michael Hitchcock, John Michael Higgins, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, and Jane Lynch, among many others.
Event organisers timed their tribute perfectly to run during the judging of the Norwich Terrier breed, which Winky represented in the film. A career retrospective video was screened to applause from all assembled at the esteemed venue.
Coincidentally, a dog called “Cookie” also won the award for the Toy Group category at the event.
The Westminster Kennel Club is regarded among the world’s most prestigious organisations for pure breeding.
A dog owner since the early 80s, after convincing his parents to buy a Yorkshire terrier named Sadie, Darren created Dream Dogs so dog owners could find the best dog related information on the Internet.
