Uno! Uno! Uno! That spunky hound from up the road in Austin shattered 100 years of oppression and discrimination against beaglekind, winning Best in Show for his breed for the first time ever. Heck, a beagle hadn't even won the hound group since 1939. How did this little guy even stand a chance?
Well, Uno certainly worked the crowd. When he came out for the final judging, the volume definitely went up in the arena. I didn't need the commentators to tell me that. And Uno seemed completely unfazed by it all, bouncing around in his own little world, as beagle are wont to do. I have to say I have never, ever seen a beagle with markings as symmetrical as Uno's. He had a little less black than I'm used to, but the color patterns on either pattern were perfectly balanced. His tail had a nice bit of feathering up near the top, but the tip, oddly, was rounded and blunt. I've never seen a beagle with anything other than a white tip coming to a point, so maybe the owner trimmed it for some arcane show thing? Uno wasn't all that big for a 15-inch beagle, either. My late, great Sigfreid Sebastian Bach was significantly larger than Uno (with very asymmetrical markings), although Monkeyshine and My Precioussss both look to be comparable to Uno's stature. Can you tell I'm a beagle person yet?
When the final round of judging began, I was pretty much convinced Uno wouldn't win. Beagles are a breed that go back to Elizabethan times, but aren't the type of long-haired frou frou dog that usually does well in these kinds of things. Needless to say, I was horrified by the two poodle entrants. A more nightmarish distortion of the canine species I've never seen. The little Sealyham terrier was kinda creepy too, but not to that degree. The red merle Australian shepherd was a nice dog, but for some reason it didn't stand out amongst the other competition, so I doubted it would win. The Akita had very nice markings, and had a strong presence, so I was a little concerned about it, but my big worry was the Weimeraner. Stylish and sleek, it stood out amongst the competition and if the judge was going to go with a trendy pick, that Weimeraner would be a good compromise between the extremes of the poofy poodles and working dogs such as the beagle and Aussie shepherd. The fact that a Weimeraner had never won had me concerned, as did the USA announcers picking it as their personal choice to win.
Before the judge Donald Jones came out, the commentators discussed what he'd be looking for in the winner--and quoted Jones as saying there would come "some moment" when he just knew. As it was Uno's time to parade before the judge for evaluation, he looked frisky enough for a beagle, but not necessarily one to beat out the other competition. Once he stopped before the judge, however, I immediately though "He's going to start baying." And he did. Beagle bark (between midnight and 5 a.m. seems to be their preferred time to do so) but they also bay. It's not the deep, extended bay of blood hounds or coon hounds. It's in a higher register, and is more truncated than those larger dogs'. It has more energy. More joy and excitement. They bay when on the scent of a rabbit, but also when they're playing. Uno was clearly enjoying himself, baying so hard that his front paws were coming off the carpet. I thought to myself, "That's the moment." That is a signature trait of beagles as much as not barking is synonymous with the basenji breed. Honestly, if he hadn't broken out into song it should've been points against him. The crowd, already won over, loved it. And the judge, apparently, was won over. Best in show.
The icing on the cake came when the trophies were presented. Uno immediately began looking into the various bowls, then up at his owner as if to say, "Where's the food?" Typical beagle to the last. Congratulations, Uno.
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