Sarah Montague

Talk To Me: Happy Story Endings

(Photo courtesy of the ASPCA)

“Tiny, but mighty,” is how Chihuahuas are described (by a Chihuahua) in Drew Barrymore’s hit film Beverly Hills Chihuahua, but this engaging Mexican breed, which may date back to the ancient Mayans ...

Stream Adam Gopnik's perspective on Jung's expression of artistic turbulence.

Robert Downey Jr., who stars in the new movie "Sherlock Holmes," is the latest actor to take on this iconic role. Guy Ritchie, the film's director, says Holmes' persona is an even divide between enigma and accessibility. WNYC's Sarah Montague traces the character's evolution and ...

Talk To Me: Activist and Poet Adrienne Rich

French Bulldog at Meet the Breeds (photo by Gilles Mingasson)

Dogs originating from China, cats whose ancestors knew the Pharaohs, three-pound Chihuahuas, and 150-pound Mastiffs were just a few of ...

My dimwitted Bullmastiff answers to “Batty,” but his full name is Louis, First Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and his mother was Princess Beatrice. The Portuguese Water Dog currently enjoying life (probably more than the rest of the residents) at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is Amigo’s New Hope (“Bo” to you), and his entire family tree can be viewed here.

These facts come to you by way of the American Kennel Club, or AKC, which celebrates its 125th anniversary today. AKC Executive Secretary James Crowley talks about what the dog world was like in the late 19th century.

A match show at Jeremy Shaw’s Queen’s Head Tavern, 1855. From an oil painting by R. Marshall, 1855.

So, basically, the AKC was founded by 12 toffs in top hats, rather like the types in this picture of an early dog match. Here’s James Crowley on their pedigree:
But today’s AKC is a very different organization, reflecting a very different world, says Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson:

If your idea of what to do with your dog involves Frisbees, or long walks, or hair bows, you may be surprised by the range of activities that come under the Club’s auspices, according to James Crowley.
Here’s an Irish Terrier, aptly named “No Retreat” showing his form at an early agility show.

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Author Colson Whitehead’s critically praised novels look imaginatively at race relations and pop culture.

REPORTER: Whitehead's new novel, Sag Harbor, is a coming-of-age story, and he read from it earlier this week at the Happy Ending Reading Series at Joe’s Pub. His main character, Benji, recalls ...

The walls of Doyle Auctioneers’ showroom were crowded with pointers and pugs, hounds and hares, 19th century sporting prints and 20th century canine portraits, while the showroom floor was equally crowded with dogs of all shapes and sizes and their human escorts sporting dual purpose name tags (person/dog).

The occasion was the 11th annual Dogs in Art Brunch, a preview of the Doyle sale that will take place this coming Tuesday. Both the brunch and a portion of the sale revenues benefit Angels on a Leash, the Westminster Kennel Club’s canine therapy program. Volunteers from the program visit patients at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and many were on hand on Sunday.

Angels on a Leash board member Richard Dienst says his black lab was on of the first volunteers for the organization.

Richard Dienst and Fawna. (Mary Bloom)

Unlike the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which has rigorous aesthetic standards for participants in its annual show, any dog with the right temperament can be a therapy dog. Gay Cropper’s one-eyed Brussels Griffon, Mr. Gryffed Babian, has a thriving career.

One-eyed Brussels Griffon, Mr. Gryffed Babian (Mary Bloom)

The crowd erupted as Best in Show judge Sari Brewster Tietjen announced the winner in the category: Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, a.k.a. 'Stump.'

Jack Grassa©Westminster KC

Judge Tietjen knew perfection when she saw it:

The Dogue de Bordeaux is competing at Westminster for this first time this year, but this impressive French guard dog has a 600-year pedigree. The first Westminster Kennel Club champion of record is Gargoyles Brando T. Beefcake, shown here.

Jack Grassa © Westminster KC

One handler we spoke with got interested in the breed because of 1989 film Turner and Hootch, which featured Tom Hanks as a policeman reluctantly partnered with a Dogue.

The Portuguese Water Dog has been mentioned as one of the breeds being considered by the Obama family as their “First Dog” choice because it sheds very little (a criteria given that Malia Obama suffers from allergies).

The 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opened in Madison Square Garden, February 9, 2009. This year's winner of Westminster's Best in Show will be announced tonight. Here are a few of the contenders.

Handler Clint Livingstone calls the Petit Bassets Griffons Vendeen’s or PBGVs’ “the clowns of the hound world.” Here’s Best of Breed winner #6 Afterglow Ebeneezer.

(Jack Grassa©WestminsterKC)

French Bulldog Best of Breed winner, #30 Lebull's Midnight Confessions (Lola) and her handler Wood Warnall, were featured on WNYC’s All Things Considered yesterday. Lola went on to capture second place in the Non-Sporting Group last night at Madison Square Garden.

(Jack Grassa©WestminsterKC)

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The "Happy Ending" reading series opened this week at its new home, Joe’s Pub. WNYC's Sarah Montague has a report on Wednesday's show, which featured author Richard Price and guitarist Matthew Caws.

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The game was afoot all over New York this weekend, as Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts gathered in force. WNYC's Sarah Montague attended a number of annual events that celebrate the "life" of the great detective.

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The fireworks display that opens the Beijing Olympic games are being created by one of China’s leading contemporary artists: Cai Guo-Qiang. But you don’t have to wait until August to get a taste of his flashy visual spectacles. There’s one week left to see his ...

He was the godfather of science writing. Sir Thomas Browne's exacting observations and gorgeous prose anticipated modern science writers like Rachel Carson, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sacks. But Browne lived in the 1600s, and his way of reconciling the scriptures with science looks surprisingly like what we ...

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REPORTER: Tonight, judges will decide the "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show at Madison Square Garden.

As the canine contest was beginning, volunteers from 2 local dog therapy programs gathered at a charity benefit.

The groups, "Angel on a Leash" and the "Good ...

New Yorkers can see Meryl Streep in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children at the Shakespeare in the Park festival ...

I couldn’t miss her, as she minced down the street towards me. She was wearing a hot pink vinyl coat and a collar with her name — Lola — spelled out in rhinestones. She looked like dress extra from a Legally Blonde sequel. She also looked, to my prejudiced eye, ...

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At the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, trainers and handlers strive to show 168 breeds and varieties to perfection. Artists have seen perfection in dogs for centuries, and producer Sarah Montague explores the many ways they ...