California Journey, or C.J., won best in show and also top sporting dog Tuesday night at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. The 3-year-old male German shorthaired pointer is only the third of his breed to take the top prize — including his grandmother, Carlee, who won top honors in 2005 — at the oldest and most prestigious dog show in America.
"For me, it's very important that every dog take me back into the past to what they were bred to do," said the judge, Richard Meen, explaining why he picked C.J. "They were bred to point in the field, and they have to move well. He never stopped looking, focused in front of him, and he floated around the ring."
C.J. was not favored to win, and he beat out some crowd favorites, including Rumor the German shepherd and Annabelle the bulldog. You can watch C.J.'s owner, trainer, and handler, Valerie Nunes-Atkinson, talk in length about her champion German shorthaired pointer in the video below. Peter Weber
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