Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog: An Underdog for the Ages
Trumpet the Bloodhound made history this week at the Westminster Dog Show
If you’ve been reading The Word for a while now, you’re probably aware that we here at Religion of Sports are suckers for a good underdog story. And what’s not to love? An unlikely champion represents one of the true joys of sports; they capture that space in our imagination that rests somewhere between a dream and a miracle and seems to only exist on the field of play.
Well boy, oh good boy…do I have an underdog tale to share with you.
On Wednesday, history was made at the Westminster Dog Show, the most prestigious showcase of canines in the world. The pooches are pampered and paraded around a panel of judges who inspect and scrutinize each one. Typically, the dogs exhibited at Westminster are less man’s best friend and more coddled princesses. Just take last year’s champion, Wasabi the tiny Pekingese and his blow-dried hair. “If I throw a toy for him, he’ll go get it, but he won’t bring it back,” David Fitzpatrick, Wasabi’s breeder, handler, and co-owner told the New York Times. “He knows I’m going to get it for him.”
This year’s result, then, represents a victory for the overlooked. A champion of the people. For the first time in history, a bloodhound has won best in show at Westminster.
His name is Trumpet. His ears are huge. And he is perfect.
Over 3,500 dogs of over 200 breeds entered this year’s dog show. Some owners spent north of $100,000 to prepare their pooches for Westminster, and Trumpet had his fair share of rivals: There was Striker the Samoyed, a veteran of the competition who made the finals last year. Striker looks like a walking cotton ball, and according to his owner, has been competing in show after show in the run-up to Westminster, “to keep his head in the game.” There was a Maltese named Hollywood, because of course there was. And there was Winston the French Bulldog who looks like the emoji standard of a dog. Winston came into the tournament ranked number-one in the world—and with a fierce competitiveness developed by his owner Morgan Fox, who plays defensive end for the Los Angeles Chargers.
A bloodhound wasn’t the favorite to take down as fierce a kennel full of competition as that. The breed first competed in Westminster in 1888, but they’ve never sniffed success like this. In fact, bloodhounds have been overlooked for centuries as nothing but utilitarian search dogs that could assist local police crews. Supposedly, King Charles IX of France received a pack of hounds from monks as a gift in the 16th century, but the king was disgusted. He wrote to a friend that the dogs were only suitable to accompany people suffering from grout.
And of all the bloodhounds to prove centuries of doubters wrong, Trumpet wasn’t the most likely choice. He entered his first dog show only six months ago, which means his feat is the equivalent of a rookie quarterback winning the Super Bowl (although to be fair, six months is three-and-a-half years for a dog). On Good Morning America following the victory, his handler Heather Buehner reported that Trumpet is, “your every day dog. He likes to dig holes—” Just then, Trumpet started to lick Buehner’s face. “He likes to kiss,” she said laughing. “He has a lot of dog friends he likes to play with.”
Ah yes, I should mention that Trumpet is also a troublemaker. Just hours before his moment of glory, Trumpet ate a microphone backstage.
But the added weight couldn’t slow him down. As Gail Miller Bisher, the event’s color commentator, remarked while watching Trumpet trot, “He really just floated around that ring.”
At long last, Trumpet has placed the lowly bloodhound on top of the canine world. It’s a triumphant championship for his breed—but really, isn’t it a victory for all of us?
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