Uno the beagle remains most popular Westminster pooch

NEW YORK -- After all these years, Uno is still No. 1.

More than 2,700 dogs are entered in the Westminster Kennel Club show that began Monday, with a couple of clear favorites. Charlie the Skye terrier and Rumor the German shepherd lead the pack and could be picked as the nation's top pooch.

The owners only can hope their champions become another Uno.

Uno barked and bayed his way to best in show at Madison Square Garden in 2008. To this day, the beagle remains the most popular dog in Westminster history.

"Like they said, he's America's dog," handler Tristan Huebner said. "Everyone loves him."

"He's an international celebrity. Everywhere we go, he's recognized," he said.

Uno is almost 11, and the brown on his face has turned mostly white. His black side panels have faded. But he's in great health and still barks up a storm, as he did over the weekend during a trip to Rockefeller Center.

"I never get tired of his famous howl. It was the howl heard around the world," Huebner said.

No beagle had won the Westminster show until Uno, and he drew a standing ovation from a packed Garden crowd the night Aaron Wilkerson guided him around the ring.

"He was an everyday dog that people could relate to," longtime Westminster television host David Frei said.

Uno lives on a 200-plus acre ranch with owner Caroline Dowell in San Leanna, Texas, near Austin. He plays outdoors with a neighbor's potbellied pig and romps around the house with other beagles.

"He's a perfect lap dog," Huebner said.

Uno got a ride to New York with Dan Huebner, Tristan's dad and the manager of Dowell's ranch -- "1,754 miles, about that," he said. Uno originally was going to fly aboard Purina's plane, and when that didn't work out, Ann Viklund of Nestle Purina PetCare and their team helped arrange his stay.

Last year, Miss P became the second beagle to win Westminster.

In early judging Monday, Rumor won his breed of breed and so did Inuk the American Eskimo dog for the eighth straight year. Ricky the standard poodle also prevailed -- two years ago he won Crufts, which is the biggest dog show in the world with more than 20,000 entries in England.

Patricia Hearst Shaw won an award with her French bulldog. Over the years, she's done well with the breed.

"You make an educated guess when they're young whether they have a chance to do well," she said. "They you hope they can hold it together."