Andy Rooney on Westminster

by Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger

Last night on 60 Minutes Andy Rooney wrapped up the show like he always does with his thoughts on something. This time it happened to be about the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Like Aimee's mom (and who knows how many other thousands of people), Mr. Rooney also attended Westminster. According to him, it's one of his few yearly rituals. (Along with going to the Super Bowl and doctor visits.)

I always get a kick out of his musings. I don't always agree with his opinions. Sometimes I'm downright offended while other times I'm embarrassed for him. But last night I was laughing along with him.

As I touched on in The Problem with Dog Show Science I'm not a big fan of dog shows.

I admire the beauty of a purebred, sure. But I don't admire it or revere it any differently than that of a regular paper and lineage-less pound hound. I think all the pretensions and procedures are nuts.

That's what Mr. Rooney spoke of last night. How he likes the dogs and likes meeting them. How he's amazed by how friendly they all are and happy to meet strangers. And how he also gets a kick out of seeing breeds you don't see o a regular basis.

But overall he thinks the whole ordeal's rather silly. The bows in the hair, making them stand a certain way or hold their tail just so...not natural dog behavior.

Wayne and I were cracking up over two comments in particular.

One was when he commented about how he often likes the dogs a lot better than the handlers. (We wondered if he'd ever seen the movie Best in Show, a hysterical mockumentary of dog shows and the people associated with them.)

The second was that he felt bad for the dogs and applauded them for putting up with their owner's vanity. He mused how much fun it would be to see the tables turned. Have the dogs showing the people. See how they liked it.

Here! Here!

Question to Readers

What do you think about dog shows? Fan or not?

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Learn more about Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k.

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