More than 2,500 of the world’s most talented and beautiful purebred dogs will descend on Midtown to compete for the title of Best in Show at the 149th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which starts on Saturday.
West Village resident Schmutzie the Samoyed, a cloud-like herding dog and one of just 26 pups from New York City, will be among the competitors vying for the title this year.
It’ll be her fourth time at Westminster, and she has no apparent apprehensions going into the event. When asked about her hopes and dreams, Schmutzie walked in a semicircle, sat down and, moments later, lay down under a table at Google’s Chelsea headquarters, where her owner software engineer Michael Matloob works.
Matloob explained Schmutzie's mindset going into the competition.
“She’s like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get pet in weird ways by this judge. And then I’m gonna run back and forth. And there are going to be a lot of other dogs that look like me,’” he said. “That’s what it is to her.”
While Schmutzie's place in the purebred pantheon may be beyond her comprehension, she has been destined for the stage since birth.
Schmutzie as a puppy.
Photo by Katie Hockman
Schmutzie was born Aug. 14, 2020, in Granville, New York, about a 90-minute drive north of Albany. Her breeders, Linda and Larry Carman, quickly recognized that this pandemic puppy was genetically blessed – essentially a textbook representation of her breed, as defined by the American Kennel Club, with her bright coat, almond-shaped eyes and perpetual smile.
At the time, Matloob was searching for a Samoyed to call his own, but it was the days of peak COVID dog waitlists, and there were none to be had. Then he inquired with the Carmans, who agreed to sell him Schmutzie on one condition: that he make her a champion.
“I didn’t know the first thing about showing dogs,” said Matloob, who also didn’t realize she had a water-resistant coat that helps her stay clean, and thus named her Schmutzie, after the schmutz, or dirt, he assumed would quickly show on her white fur. “ The first show that she did, it was a total disaster, so I called the breeders that day and I'm like, ‘What do I do?'”
They connected him with Debbie Studwell, a second-generation dog trainer in Bethel, Pennsylvania. Matloob now pays Studwell to show Schmutzie, who also now has her own Instagram, website and business cards.
Schmutzie and Matloob on Dec 1, 2024.
Photo by Michael Fink
Under Studwell’s coaching, Schmutzie has accrued more ribbons than Matloob can count. (To compete in the Westminster Dog Show, a pup must be a “champion,” an official qualification that requires distinguishing a dog as among the top in their breed at specific, smaller competitions.)
“ She really is a great show dog,” Studwell said of the graceful and charismatic furball.
And that’s not just to say she has good genetics. A great show dog “also has to have the attitude to do it, the oomph to go. They can't just walk around, they have to trot, they have to put their ears up,” Studwell said. “She goes in there and she shows her little heart out.”
On show weekends, Matloob leaves Schmutzie with Studwell, who not only shows her but also takes care of her nails, her fur, and her travel to and from the show.
It’s a fairly common arrangement for dogs to have a city family and a “show mom” outside the city, said Studwell.
“It’s tough having a dog in the city,” she explained.
Schmutzie waits for the subway.
Photo by Michael Matloob
When at home in the Big Apple, Schmutzie “has two different sorts of days,” Matloob said.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she joins him at Google. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she attends doggie day care and takes agility classes. Schmutzie is obsessed with agility classes.
“She likes it so much I started taking her to some agility classes” outside of the day care, Matloob said.
When it’s warm out, Schmutzie enjoys outdoor dining, but she much prefers the cold. Snow is her favorite — she loves to jump in it. She gets confused by rain, likely because it dampens her sense of smell, Matloob said.
Head pets and attention are not just appreciated but persistently demanded year-round.
Schmutzie and Matloob at the office.
Hannah Frishberg / Gothamist
Schmutzie's best friend is Dylan, her sister from the same litter who used to live in the neighborhood but recently moved to Brooklyn. Schmutzie does not yet have a new best friend.
“I think she would still like to see Dylan,” Matloob said, adding that he and Dylan’s owner have been trying to coordinate a doggie hang.
Unlike Schmutzie, Matloob has hopes and dreams for this year’s Westminster: Grand Champion Silver.
Currently, Schmutzie's full name is Grand Champion Bronze Champion Samtasia’s When Life Gives You Schmutz. Names in dog shows are typically elaborate and contain several words so that no dog competes under the same name as a previous participant.
Like Schmutzie, though, Matloob is not stressing much about the contest. Westminster winners (with the exception of a single junior handler category) get no cash prizes — just a trophy and glory — and Matloob knows well how many good boys and girls will be vying for the top prizes.
“It’s stiff competition,” Matloob said as Schmutzie sat up to watch a stranger pass.
