2011 Best in show

Minneapolis woman co-owns top dog at Westminster showScottish deerhound lives in VirginiaBy Frederick Melo fmelo@pioneerpress.comUpdated: 02/17/2011 03:07:39 AM CST "IT'S THE SCOTTISH DEERHOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"That was the message that went out to 2,652 dog fans Tuesday from the official Twitter feed of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which awarded its covetedBest in Show title to a Minneapolis woman's prized female Scottish deerhound, Foxcliffe Hickory Wind.The 5-year-old dog, which goes by Hickory for short, took home the equivalent of the Most Valuable Player award at the Super Bowl of dog shows in New York City. This was the kennel club's 135th annual show, and Hickory was the first of her breed to capture the top spot.Her owner is Sally Sweatt, 65.Hickory made stops Wednesday at the Empire State Building and New York's famed Sardi's restaurant to enjoy a steak served on a silver platter.Hickory, her handler and breeder also made appearances at "Fox & Friends," "Today," "The Early Show," "Good Day New York" and "The Martha Stewart Show."New York Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan blessed the dog on his way into the "Fox & Friends" show, according to the kennel club's Facebook page.Hickory will open the New York Stock Exchange this morning, Sweatt said.Sweatt left the Big Apple late Wednesday afternoon to return to the Twin Cities, Sweatt's sister-in-law told the Pioneer Press.Sweatt, a member of the Lake Minnetonka Kennel Club, said she showed dogs as a child and picked it up again in her 20s, and learned about Hickory a year ago through a handler she works with.Celia and Scott Dove, Hickory's breeders and co-owners in Flint Hill, Va., had less experience in national competitions, so Sweatt signed on as an additional owner.Hickory will retire to her breeder's farm."Dove saw a beautiful dog, and he did not want to see the opportunity missed to present Hickory in the way she should be presented," Sweatt said. "And my handler saw it, too. ... It's quite an honor to have this happen. It's very unexpected."In 1983, Sweatt's Sealyham terrier won the terrier group at Westminster.The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show's Twitter and Facebook feeds described the event's final moments Tuesday:"Photographers mob the ring and have formed a circle around Hickory and her handler. The audience is slowly leaving the stands, but for Hickory, her new career as the ambassador of her breed and Westminster's newest Best in Show dog is just beginning."Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.Onlinewww.westminsterkennelclub.org