Penny, a doberman pinscher, competes in the Best in Show judging of the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
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Yuki Iwamura/AP
NEW YORK — The dog was Penny. The win was priceless.
A Doberman pinscher named Penny won best in show Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, netting U.S. show dogs’ most coveted prize — and giving veteran handler Andy Linton another win after nearly four decades. Linton got best in show in 1989 with another Doberman, named Indy.
Penny “is as great a Doberman as I have ever seen,” Linton told a supportive crowd. Despite health problems, he guided the 4-year-old dog through an impeccably crisp performance.
“I had some goals, and this was one of them,” Linton said, adding later in a conversation with reporters that as he’s winding down his career, winning at the milestone 150th annual Westminster show is “extra-special.”
Runner-up — and cheers just as loud — went to a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota. While Dobermans have won five times including Tuesday, no retriever has ever won, and their fans applaud every encouraging sign.
