Toy Group Winner, a Pug Named ‘Vito,’ Wins 2024 National Dog Show Presented by Purina
An adorable, outgoing 21/2-year-old fawn male Pug named “Vito” charmed his way to winning the 23rd National Dog Show Presented by Purina. Handled by Michael Scott, of Chesapeake City, Maryland, the Pug exuded confidence and showmanship.
Televised on NBC on Thanksgiving Day, the National Dog Show has become a favorite annual tradition of nearly 20 million viewers, making it the most widely viewed dog show in America. Its popularity is boosted by commentators John O’Hurley of Seinfeld fame and dog show analyst David Frei, who combine expertise and humor in a rarefied style. They have been co-hosts since the show began in 2002.
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia hosted the show that included 1,940 dogs representing 205 of the 213 eligible breeds and varieties. All the Group winners, including Best in Show winner Vito, are fed Purina Pro Plan dog food. Vito is the 14th consecutive Best in Show winner who is fed Pro Plan.
MBIS/MBISS GCHG Andi In Cahoots, as Vito is formally known, won his 25th Best in Show at the National Dog Show. Vito, who began his Specials campaign in January 2024 with Scott, is the No. 11 all-breed dog in the country, the No. 2 Toy dog and the No. 1 Pug in all systems.
“The Pug is as near perfect as I have seen,” says George Milutinovich, of Fresno, California, the Best in Show judge and a breeder of Pugs early in his career. “He exemplifies everything a Pug should be.” Joy Barbieri and Rebecca Movall, of Stanfordville, New York, bred Vito. Eileen Barbieri, of Pine Plains, New York, Joy’s mother, is a co-breeder. Vito is the 65th homebred champion their Andi Pugs breeding program has produced.
Among Vito’s prominent wins in 2024, he won multiple Bests in Show at these clusters: the Mississippi Valley Cluster May 31 to June 3 at the Purina Event Center in Gray Summit, Missouri; the Virginia Adventure Cluster in June in Fishersville, Virginia; the Summer Mountain Cluster in August in Cumberland, Maryland; and the Hunt Country Cluster Oct. 27 to Nov. 2 in Doswell, Virginia. He also won the Columbia River Pug Fanciers Specialty Show #1 and #2 in September in Spokane Valley, Washington.
“Vito is the best Pug we have bred. He has beautiful structure, a pretty face, the breed’s iconic curly tail, a square body, level topline, good bone and depth of chest,” says Joy Barbieri, who got her first Pug at 7 years old and showed Pugs in Junior Showmanship as a teenager. “He has a lot of charisma and loves dog shows.”
Joy Barbieri and Movall recently were named the 2024 AKC Toy Group Breeders of the Year, an honor recognizing the success of their Andi Pugs breeding program over the past 20 years. They have produced nearly 70 champion Pugs, including Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show winners. They also are two-time winners of the Pug Dog Club of America Breeder of the Year Award, having won in 2019 and 2022, and are the only AKC Gold Level Breeder of Merit for Pugs.
Carolyn Koch, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the co-owner of Vito, along with Joy Barbieri and Movall. Koch, who has bred many Best in Show Pug winners under the Riversong kennel prefix, has been a Pug lover for over 30 years and often helps to support the campaigns of promising Pugs. She was an AKC Lifetime Achievement Award nominee in 2022, an honor that celebrates those who have dedicated many years to the sport on a national level.
Vito is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.
Joining Vito, the Toy Group winner, in the Best in Show ring were these Group winners:
Reserve Best in Show and Terrier Group Winner:
“Verde,” a 51/2-year-old Welsh Terrier, handled by Gabriel Rangel, of Rialto, California.
MBIS/MBISS GCHB Studio Be Curious Jp Justice Hero is a Japanese champion and was a top-ranked terrier in Japan when he came to the U.S. in mid-2023. The No. 9 all-breed dog, No. 2 Terrier and No. 1 Welsh Terrier in all systems, Verde was bred by Yuko Iguchi of Japan. Gabriel and Yvonne Rangel bred his sire, CH Rangel’s Gold Doublon, and sold him to Iguchi, their assistant, when she returned to Japan.
Verde, who began his Specials career in the U.S. in January 2024, has been shown on a limited basis. He started off the year winning Best in Show at the Kennel Club of Palm Springs on Jan. 6, 2024, topping 3,177 dogs. In July, he won the #1 and #2 Great Western Terrier Association of Southern California shows in Long Beach and in October, won back-to-back Bests in Show at the all-breed Hatboro Kennel Club shows in Macungie, Pennsylvania, during the Montgomery County Kennel Club Terrier Show weekend. He has won 27 Bests in Show.
“Verde’s type is as good as it gets,” says Rangel, who has bred Welsh Terriers for 30 years. “He is one of the best Welsh Terriers I have seen.”
Jill See, of Somis, California, Iguchi and the Rangels are co-owners. He is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.
Non-Sporting Group Winner:
“JJ,” a 31/2-year-old male Lhasa Apso, handled by breeder-owner Susan Giles, of Manakin-Sabot, Virginia.
MBIS/MBISS GCHG Ta Sen Westgate Jingle Juice is the No. 3 Non-Sporting dog and has been the No. 1 all-systems Lhasa Apso for two years. JJ is a two-time Best of Breed winner at the American Lhasa Apso Club National Specialty having won in 2023 and 2024, and he won the Bred-By-Exhibitor Non-Sporting Group and Best of Breed at the 2023 AKC National Championship. He has won nine Bests in Show.
JJ reminds Giles of the dog’s maternal great-grandsire, “Pete” (BIS/MBISS CH Ta Sen Victory Peyote ROM), a three-time Best of Breed winner at Westminster and a National Specialty winner.
“JJ is beautifully put together,” Giles says. “He is very smooth-moving and really enjoys showing.”
Giles has bred Lhasa Apsos under the Ta Sen kennel prefix for 51 years and has produced over 125 homebred champions. She is most proud of having won eight National Specialties and eight Grand Futurities.
JJ was co-bred by Cindy Sehnert of Westgate Lhasa Apsos in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, and the late Ellen Loningro of Kinderland Lhasa Apsos in Summerville, South Carolina. Sehnert and Muriel Wolverton, of San Jose, California, co-own JJ with Giles. JJ is fed Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Formula dog food.
Herding Group Winner:
“Rupert,” a 31/2-year-old fawn charbonne male Berger Picard, handled by Daniel Martin, of Princeton, North Carolina.
MBIS/MBISS GCHG Eclipse Ace In The Hole is the top-winning Picard of all time with seven Bests in Show. Rupert is the No. 6 Herding dog and has been the No. 1 all-systems Berger Picard for two years. He won Best of Breed at the 2023 AKC National Championship and at the 2023 and 2024 Westminster Kennel Club shows. In 2024, Rupert won the Kanadasaga Kennel Club show in September in Romulus, New York, where he outperformed 1,471 dogs. He also won the 2024 Berger Picard Club of America National Specialty.
Amanda Giles, Martin’s wife, who also is a professional handler, first showed Rupert until going on maternity leave. “Rupert has outstanding temperament, is very balanced and has clean, fluid movement,” says Giles, who has bred Berger Picards for 10 years.
Donna and Mike Beadle, of Elko New Market, Minnesota, are the breeders of Rupert. He is owned by Chris Ruppenthal, of Shingle Springs, California, Grace and Bob Thomas, of Napa Valley, California, and Gay Glazbrook, of Arlington, Texas. Rupert is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.
Hound Group Winner:
“The Zit,” a 6-year-old red-and-white female Ibizan Hound, handled by breeder-owner Sarah Murphy, of Spring Hill, Florida.
MBIS/MBISS GCHG DC Abbaio Bushbaby SC ATT, is the No. 6 Hound and No. 1 all-systems Ibizan Hound. “She was named The Zit because of the nine puppies in her litter; she was the only one who did not have a full red mask,” Murphy explains. “She was the only ‘white head.’”
The Zit has won six Bests in Show including at the Valdosta Kennel Club in April in Perry, Georgia, topping 1,882 dogs, a win that made her the first Dual Champion Ibizan Hound to win a Best in Show. She is a Best in Field winner in lure coursing. The Zit won the 2024 Ibizan Hound Club of the United States National Specialty. Her Best of Breed wins include at Westminster in 2024 and at the AKC National Championship in 2022 and 2023.
Murphy has shown Ibizan Hounds for 22 years and has bred them for 14 years. The Zit represents the third-generation of her Abbaio Ibizan Hound breeding program. Murphy says the sighthound is similar to her dam, her foundation bitch, “Elin” (GCHB DC Jakona’s Swiss Miss MC LCX), a multi-Best in Field winner and Westminster Best of Breed winner, and her paternal granddam, “Stella” (GCHG DC Serandida Abbaio alla Luna MC LCX NAJ), a Best in Field winner and Murphy’s first Dual Champion.
“The Zit is so close to what our standard describes as ideal,” Murphy says. “She is in great condition and has awesome power.”
Co-owners are Shawn Fuller, of Joppa, Maryland, Leslie Hotchkiss, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and Vickie Tippins of Bowdon, Georgia. The Zit is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.
Sporting Group Winner:
“Houston,” a 2-year-old male Clumber Spaniel handled by Alexis Ditlow, of Enola, Pennsylvania.
MBISS Clussexx Texaz Heaven Hell Or Houston has been shown sparingly in 2024, slated to begin his Specials campaign in 2025. His wins include sweeping the Maryland Sporting Dog Association shows in March in West Friendship, Maryland, and winning the Clumber Spaniel Fanciers of Michigan show in May in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
“Houston has breed type through and through, and his head is perfection, his topline is like a table, and his movement is perfectly smooth,” Ditlow says.
He is charismatic and an incredible show dog like his sire, “Angus” (GCHG Clussexx Man of Steel), Ditlow says. Angus placed second in the Sporting Group at Westminster in 2016 and was the No. 3 Sporting dog in 2017. He was a top winner of 24 Bests in Show during his career and a two-time National Specialty winner.
Houston was bred by Catherine Dorris of Texas and Doug Johnson and Jamie Hubbard of Bloomington, Indiana, breeders of Angus and the Clumber Spaniel, “Brady” (CH Clussexx Country Sunrise), who won Best in Show at Westminster in 1996. Houston is owned by Jacquelin Hickey, of Keyport, New Jersey, and co-owned by Dorris. He is fed Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Formula dog food.
Working Group Winner:
“Monty,” a 5-year-old male Giant Schnauzer, handled by Katie Bernardin, of Chaplin, Connecticut.
MBIS/MBISS GCHG Hearthmore’s Wintergreen Mountain RI CGC TKN FITB, is the No. 1 all-breed dog in the country, the No. 1 Working dog and the No. 1 Giant Schnauzer in all systems. He is a two-time Working Group winner at Westminster, having won in 2023 and 2024, and the winner of the 2024 Giant Schnauzer Club of America National Specialty. Monty has won 63 Bests in Show, including winning multiple Bests in Show in 2024 at the Sunshine State Cluster in June in Tampa, at the Oklahoma Summer Classic in June in Oklahoma City and at the North Branch Cluster in September in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
His show record mirrors that of his sire, “Ty” (MBIS/MBISS GCHG Ingebar’s Tynan Dances With Wildflowers), the No. 1 all-breed dog in the country in 2017. Ty achieved 87 Bests in Show during his career. He won Reserve Best in Show at Westminster in 2018 and Working Group Firsts at the AKC National Championship in 2016 and in 2019, which was a comeback after having surgery for a potentially career-ending injury. He was a two-time winner at the Giant Schnauzer Club of America National Specialty.
Monty was bred by Cherlann Ambrose of Pemberton Township, New Jersey. He is co-owned by Sandra Nordstrom, of Ocean City, New Jersey, Bernardin and Ambrose. Monty is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Salmon & Rice Formula dog food.
Congratulations to these 2024 National Dog Show winners!