By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — Manhattan's homegrown show dogs fared excellently at the 134th Annual Westminster Dog Show early this week with several Manhattan pooches taking home top awards.
A handful of dogs from around the borough took home Best of Breed awards, including a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who lives on the Upper East Side, a bulldog and a Tibetan spaniel from Midtown East, and an Italian greyhound born on the Upper West Side.
"We live just two blocks from Central Park, so actually when I take my morning run every morning I take Dinah with us," said East Harlem resident Katherine Santiago of her Alaskan malamute.
Dinah won the Best of Opposite Sex award for her breed on Tuesday morning.
Upper East Side dog owner Gretchen Tanenbaum explained how raising a city dog is a unique experience.
"New York is a wonderful place to have a dog because you get to spend a lot of time with your dog," Tanenbaum said about her petit basset griffon vendeen. "You don't just put them in the backyard to run. You have to walk them and spend lots and lots of time with them because that's how they get their exercise."
Manhattan dog owners showing at the Garden this week felt a sense of pride to be representing their hometown in Westminster.
"It's wonderful to win in my hometown of Manhattan," said Janet York whose Cavalier King Charles spaniel won Best of Breed on Monday.
Xavier Santiago affirmed York's sentiment saying, "To win in the town you live in is always a great feeling."
