Local Dog Wins "First in Group" at NBC's "National Dog Show" Airing Thanksgiving Day

Ben, an Affenpinscher from Seekonk won “First in Group” for the Toy Group at “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina” airing on Thanksgiving Day on NBC.

Four-year-old Ben, whose registered name is CH American General Yarrow’s Hi-Tech Ben There Done That, is owned by Dr. and Mrs. William Trusdale of Seekonk and Letisha Wubbel from Bowmansville, PA.

A multiple Best in Show winner, Ben is the son of 2013 Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show Winner Banana Joe. Ben has accumulated many Group Winner titles, as well as a Best in National Specialty and was the 2014 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show’s Best of Breed winner.

As one of seven dogs competing in “Best of Show,” Ben will be featured during “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina” television broadcast on Thanksgiving Day on NBC immediately following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event has become a holiday favorite generating a total audience of 20 million viewers each year.

Each of the 180 AKC registered breeds and varieties are assigned to one of seven groups (Sporting Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding) representing characteristics and functions for which the breeds were originally bred. By winning the “First In Group” competition, that dog joins an elite group of winners of the seven group competitions that go on to compete for the ultimate “Best in Show” award, the coveted red, white and blue ribbon, and to become winner of “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina.”