A milestone event takes place every year at New York's Madison Square Garden and it features our four legged friends in the spotlight as they compete for the coveted "Best In Show" title by showing off their canine savvy. We are referring to The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show which draws a world wide mass of attention that has been a Big Apple staple since the 19th century. The competition focuses on purebred dogs that arrive for this yearly event as their owners proudly display their animals as they vie for the top honor. Here's a twist. The 2022 event has a local Berkshire connection.

Two of this year's judges hail from our backyard: Nioma Stoner Coen will oversee a variety of Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs and Pembroke Walsh Corgis while Thomas Coen has his hands full with a mix of Australian cattle and sheepdogs, Belgian Laekenois, Turvuren and Sheepdogs, Icelandic and Olde English Sheepdogs and Norwegian Buhnds. Their final decisions will bring the selected canines to the main competition at Pennsylvania Plaza which takes place on February 24th, 25th and 26th 2022.

Each participant goes through a series of competitions before making it to the main circle. All events take place at Manhattan's Pier 36 beginning with The Masters Agility championship on January 22nd. 2 days later, the breed competitions commence before the group judging is scheduled for January 25th and 26th.

We are so proud of Nioma and Thomas for representing south county and the entire tri-state region as they will play an instrumental role in this historic event in the ol' hometown. For more information on this year's competition, log on to the Westminster Kennel Club web site by going here.

RANKED: Here Are the 63 Smartest Dog Breeds

Does your loyal pup's breed make the list? Read on to see if you'll be bragging to the neighbors about your dog's intellectual prowess the next time you take your fur baby out for a walk. Don't worry: Even if your dog's breed doesn't land on the list, that doesn't mean he's not a good boy--some traits simply can't be measured.

 

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