Thor, a bulldog owned by a Philly-area native, is Best in Show at the Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s National Dog Show.
"Absolutely thrilled, it's an amazing show and it's a dream come true," said Kara Gordon of Midland, Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia knows well the story of the underdog overcoming all odds, and Gordon says her 2 1/2-year-old 60-pound bulldog did just that when he won Best in Show.
"I'm an Eagles fan tried-and-true for many years, and they said, you know, what it's like to love the underdog. So I guess he sort of was the underdog in this case. The number one dog in the country was there," she said.
The competition, which had more than 2,000 entries and nearly 200 different breeds, and was held on Nov. 16 and 17 at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Montgomery County, but the results were not publicly announced until it aired after the Thanksgiving Day parade.
"He's a showman, a natural show dog. He loves it," Gordon added.
"I love this dog," handler Eduardo Paris said in an interview after the show, which aired on Thursday but actually took place earlier this month. "He's a very complete dog... he moves like a dream."
Thor's six other competitors were a Havanese, a Siberian Husky, a Golden Retriever, a Pharaoh Hound, an Old English Sheepdog, and a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.
A new breed was introduced at the show-- an Azawakh. This is the only breed that is taller than it is long, and is bred in Africa as a hunter.
Even more outstanding than the introduction of a new breed, was the woman who showed him.
Aliya Taylor, a former Philadelphia police officer, wore a hijab and was the only person involved in the event to do so.
The National Dog Show has aired after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the last 18 years. Over 20 million people tune into the program every year.
Next stop for them, Gordon says, is Westminster.
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