Stache took the title, but Pumpkin nearly scooped up the win.
The National Dog Show’s top dog, announced Thursday in the Thanksgiving broadcast on NBC, was the Sealyham terrier from Cochranville, Pennsylvania.
Stache and handler Margery Good won the terrier group before the dog was named best in show.
The furry victor — registered name GCHP CH Goodspice Efbe Money Stache — has a full beard to go with his stache and comes from dog show royalty. His grandfather, Charmin, won the World Dog Show, the AKC National Championship and Crufts in England.
The Sealyham terrier is a Welsh breed named for the Sealy Ham estate. Celebrity owners have included Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart.
Pumpkin, a Dalmatian owned by Barbara Kaplan-Barrett and Edward Barrett from Milltown, New Jersey, emerged as runner-up, or reserve best in show, after winning the non-sporting group. She has also been a top competitor at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
The spotted dog, whose registered name is GCHP Planett’s Pop Star, is handled by Michael Scott of Chesapeake City, Maryland.
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia hosts the Thanksgiving show, which airs on the holiday after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade but took place Nov. 18 and 19 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
In 2022, a smiling, cream-colored French bulldog named Winston won the National Dog Show. His win was reflective of a larger national trend: for the first time, French bulldogs overtook Labrador retrievers as the most popular (registered) dog breed in the United States.
The first National Dog Show Thanksgiving broadcast was in 2002. NBC will air an encore presentation of the 2023 competition 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25.
Here are the other group winners from the 2023 National Dog Show:
• Sporting group: M, a Chesapeake Bay retriever from Alexandria, Ohio
• Working group: Carson, a great Dane from Atlanta, Georgia
• Hound group: Yaro, an Azawahk from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Herding group: Heathcliff, a German shepherd from Jasper, Georgia
• Toy group: Comet, a shih tzu from Monclova, Ohio
