Meeting Dave at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

There it is on my shoulder – a giant gob of dog drool. But that comes with the territory if you hugged a Newfoundland, and I’m especially proud of this splotch because it’s the goober of a champion.

After competing in only a handful of dog shows to date, Dave the purebred Newfoundland is already 6^th in the U.S. in his breed. At only 20 months old, Dave found his way to the 149^th Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) Dog Show after winning several Best in Show titles at other regional shows. 

But he had a head start. Dave is the grandson of Josh, the Newfoundland who won Best in Show at the 128^th WKC Dog Show in 2004 and was the top winning Newfoundland in the history of the breed, according to The Canine Chronical. At 155 pounds, Josh tied for the biggest dog ever to win the coveted WKC title. (The other big guy was another Newfoundland in 1984).

Dave isn’t that big yet. According to handler Vesta Rash, he will get a little bigger though likely stay under the 150-pound mark. Rash is attending Westminster as a professional dog handler, and she has three pups with her. Including a much smaller Tibetan Spaniel, who’s Dave’s best buddy. 

Dave is still very young, and according to Rash, he’s practising showing right now. “We got here,” she says, “we’ll see what happens.” Fun fact: Dave’s show name is Southwind Jefferson Still Lives At Ks. But Dave suits him better.

Rash is enthusiastic when she tells me she loves this breed, emphasizing they make great family pets. “This breed will jump out of a helicopter and into the water to save you,” she says. “They are incredibly loyal.”

Dave is especially charming, and he spent the afternoon in the ‘bench area’ of the dog show, which is open for spectators to visit. While there, Rash ties a red bib around his neck which reads: “Hi, I’m Dave.” Several people stop to greet him, calling him by name and he loves it. “He gets really surprised when people know his name,” Rash says.

“That’s because it’s written right there,” one person says pointing to the bib.

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that,” Rash says. 

And that’s around the time I got goobered. Dave, sporting his red bid, was actively greeting admirers. I squatted down to get an eye-level photo. That was his cue, apparently, and he headed straight for me – moving in for the cuddles, excited drool and all. Dave might be of champion genetics, but it hasn’t gone to his head. Today, he’s one big dopy puppy still figuring out what all the fuss is about. 

Dave is owned by Martha Feltenstein. He’s from Pouch Cove Newfoundland breeders, a New Jersey-based breeding facility owned by Peggy Helming, familiar to many Newfoundland fans. “Pouch Cove is well-known,” says Rash. In fact, that was Josh’s first home.

Unfortunately, Dave didn’t win best of breed at the WKC dog show. But he was crowned ‘select’ dog (third out of four) at the afternoon breed judging event that took place at the Javits Center on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

The Javits Center in New York City hosts the daytime WKCDS breed judging on Monday and Tuesday – winners of each breed category move on to the Group judging events Monday and Tuesday evenings at Madison Square Gardens. The final round on Tuesday sees winners of each Group compete for Best in Show. Both evening shows are televised every year and are often repeated, if you missed it.

Now in its 149^th year, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show evening events were back at The Gardens in mid-town Manhattan, New York City on February 10 and 11, 2025 – after spending the two years at a private residence in upstate New York and then two years in Queens.

Taking home top honors – Best in Show – at the 2025 event was Monty the Giant Schnauzer. Clearly, not a Newfoundland, unfortunately, but it was a victory for the big guys.

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Sherri Telenko is a freelance writer and publisher of www.dogtrotting.net, an online magazine about travelling with your dog. She lives in Canada with one mixed breed spaniel and three cats.