Ch. K-Run's Park Me In First, also known as Uno (born May 5, 2005) is a 15 inches (380 mm) beagle from Belleville, Illinois, who won Best in Show in the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club dog show. He was the first beagle to claim the top prize at Westminster and the first beagle to win the hound group since 1939.
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Early life
Uno was born amongst a litter of four puppies in the garage of the house of Kathy Weichert in Belleville, Illinois.
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Show career
In 2008, Uno was entered in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York City having been ranked the sixth best dog based on show results in the United States during 2007. While at the competition, he was handled by Aaron Wilkerson, and competed against a field of 2,626 other dogs. Uno won his breed group, and subsequently became the first beagle of any size to win the Hound Group since 1939. Judge Ralph Lemcke said that Uno was "one of the best hounds I've ever seen".
This qualified Uno for the Best in Show round at Westminster, where he was competing against a toy Poodle, a standard Poodle, a Sealyham Terrier, an Australian Shepherd, an Akita and a Weimaraner. The judge, Dr. J. Donald Jones, took three minutes to make his decision and pointed to Uno, naming him the first beagle to ever become Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. This was ahead of Uno's third birthday during the following May.
Subsequent activities
Following his win at Westminster, he was retired from show competition as there were concerns that small show judges might deliberately overlook him for best in show prizes because of his victory. Instead the intention was to use him to breed, but this was temporarily postponed by his owner because of the level of attention that Uno was receiving from the press and the public. He ultimately never sired any puppies as Uno is sterile; his owner Caroline Dowell said "it was a blessing in disguise. I just wanted him as a pet". When not travelling, the dog lives with his owner, in a property near Dowell's ranch near Austin, Texas along with 40 to 50 beagles, most of which are rescued from kill shelters. She keeps Uno in a small group of Beagles in order to protect him, as she doesn't want him hurt by the more boisterous dogs in her care. Uno became a therapy dog following his retirement from the show ring.
Uno and his owner were invited to the White House to meet President George W. Bush. While there, he was given a collar by Laura Bush, the First Lady. Uno was the first Westminster champion to be invited to celebrate victory with the President. His home state of Illinois named a day in March in the dog's honor.
Uno was at Miller Park on July 12, 2008, to participate in the first pitch during a matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. He also attended a home game for the St. Louis Cardinals, again to help throw the first pitch. He attended that year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; where he rode in the Snoopy float. In 2015, a relation of Uno's became the second beagle to win Best in Show at Westminster. The dog, called Tashtins Lookin For Trouble, otherwise known as Miss P, is Uno's grandniece. Prior to the 2015 event, television host David Frei described Uno as "easily the most popular Westminster winner in my 25 years".
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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