NEW YORK CITY—Kent Boyles stood ready as Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show judge Richard Meen prepared to announce the winner of Best in Show. Boyles’s German shepherd Rumor had entered the event as the clear favorite, with more than 100 ribbons in her trophy case, so this coronation seemed almost a formality. Win or lose, she would retire afterward, but Boyles was pretty sure it would be win.
“The German sh—“ Meen began. Boyles took a step forward. “—orthaired pointer.”
As promised, Rumor retired to become a pet and a mom after the near miss in 2016.