The First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs, given under the auspices of the Westminster Kennel Club, was first staged in 1877 at Gilmore's Garden (the forerunner of Madison Square Garden) in New York City, drawing an entry of 1,201 dogs.

William Stifel, in his book, The Dog Show, 125 Years of Westminster, wrote of the following highlights for that first show.

The show was such a hit that it was extended to four days from its originally-scheduled three. The gate for the first day of the show was estimated as high as 8,000. On the second day, 20,000 spectators attended, a number matched on the third day and providing the impetus to add a fourth day.

A share of the proceeds from that first show was given to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to open a home for stray and disabled dogs.

In most breeds, a single class was offered, sometimes divided by sex or age, Native or Imported, or by other categories. Owners were asked to provide, but didn't always do so, data such as date of birth, sire, dam and show record for inclusion in the catalog. In this first show, there were entries in 35 different breeds and a Miscellaneous Class, which included a dog described as a "cross between a St. Bernard and a Russian Setter" and a dog named Nellie, "born with two legs only." (See the Records Section for a complete listing of all breeds.)

Most railroads provided free transport of the dogs to and from the city when they were accompanied by their owners.

Westminster even pre-dates the establishment of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club, by seven years. In fact, in 1877, members of Westminster and members of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia together adopted a set of show rules and regulations and established a Board of Appeals to oversee these rules. This was the precursor of the American Kennel Club, which was finally created in 1884.

As one might imagine, the history of the club and its show is rich and colorful.

In the early Westminster years, some interesting names showed up in the catalogs. In the first show, there were two Staghounds listed as being from the late General George Custer's pack, and two Deerhounds that had been bred by the Queen of England. In 1889, the Czar of Russia is listed as the breeder of a Siberian Wolfhound entered, and the following year, one of the entries is a Russian Wolfhound whose listed owner was the Emperor of Germany.

Philanthropist J. P. Morgan made the first of his many appearances at Westminster with his Collies in 1893. Famous American journalist Nelly Bly entered her Maltese at Westminster in 1894, some four years after she made a record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes, racing the record of Phineas Fogg in Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.

In 1888, Anna Whitney became the first woman to judge a dog show in America with her assignment of 117 St. Bernards. She would judge every year for the next seven years, but it would be 1901 before another woman judged any dog show in the U.S. In 1933, Mrs. M. Hartley Dodge became the first woman to officiate as the sole judge for Best In Show. Mrs. Dodge (Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge) became legendary in the dog show world, as the force behind the Morris & Essex Kennel Club and the benefactor of St. Hubert Giralda Animal Shelter in New Jersey.

In 1910, a class was offered for Fire Department Dalmatians, and it was won by Mike of Engine Company 8 of 51st Street. In 1916, one of the breeds entered in the Miscellaneous Class is listed as a "Truffles Hunter" named Prinz Forino. And in 1917, a special hero of World War I, a German Shepherd named Filax of Lewanno who had brought 54 wounded soldiers to safety, was exhibited at Westminster.

The most-coveted award in the dog show, Best In Show, was given for the first time in 1907. That year, and for the next two years as well, it went to a Smooth Fox Terrier bitch named Ch. Warren Remedy. She remains the only dog ever to win three times.

Six other dogs have won Best In Show twice, the most recent being the English Springer Spaniel, Ch. Chinoe's Adamant James in 1971 and 1972.

Storied in its history, rich in its tradition, The Westminster Kennel Club's famed annual dog show is unique, prestigious, and elegant for all concerned.

Indeed, there is only one Westminster."