NEW YORK • It all came down to Duffy, Chuckie, Aftin, Adrian and Rumor for top dog. Rumor, a German shepherd, was eventually named the best in show at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday.

It is the second German shepherd to win the United States' most prestigious dog show held in New York this week.

Rumor, whose official champion's name is Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn, bested more than 2,800 dogs in the competition.

"She's got a lot of beautiful details," Rumor's owner, breeder and handler Kent Boyles from Edgerton, Wisconsin, said about the features that make Rumor a winner.

Mr Boyles, who said he became "German shepherd crazy" as a child, has been breeding German shepherds for 35 years.

He and his family will drive back to Wisconsin with Rumor, where it will be retired from shows.

"This was definitely the ultimate type of win for her," Mr Boyles said. Rumor, whose favorite snack is prime rib, will likely begin bearing puppies, Mr Boyles said.

Rumor won the herding category last year as well, but lost the top prize to a German shorthaired pointer.

"She is just magnificent," Judge Thomas H. Bradley III said, in an interview with broadcasters about his pick.

Adrian, an Irish setter from the sporting group, was named runner-up.

A total of 200 breeds vied for the blue ribbon at Westminster, which began in 1877, making it the country's second longest-running sporting event behind the Kentucky Derby horse race, launched in 1875.

Devlin, a boxer, won the working group, while Tanner, a Norwich terrier, was the winner in the terrier group.

This year's contestants came from 49 American states and 16 foreign countries. Dogs were judged on characteristics specific to their breeds.

REUTERS