The nearly 140-year-old Westminster Kennel Club dog show hasn鈥檛 had a mixed-breed prance around since its early days. This year, however, organizers will allow mixed-breeds to compete in a new agility event.聽
“[Agility] is just about performance. It doesn’t matter what your dog looks like. It doesn’t matter who their mother or father was,” .
“We’re very excited about the fact that Westminster can play a leadership role in embracing, really, the sport of dogs,” said Sean McCarthy, the President of Westminster.
, with its emphasis on purebreds, has caused much disharmony among dog lovers. Some argue that dog breeding is thoughtless, especially as thousands of mixed-breeds suffer in shelters. On the other hand, many people feel strongly about maintaining certain breed traits and creating the most compatible pets.
Westminster鈥檚 most prestigious award, , will still be chosen from some 2,800 purebred entrants, such as Labrador retrievers and French bulldogs. The 2014 event will take place February 10 and 11.