Snoopy would be pleased

We just lost our 14 year old beagle Rascal last week, so it was nice to see this tribute to beagles today, as one won a best in show at the Westminster Dog Show for the first time ever. NY Times:

The judge could hear Uno, the 15-inch beagle, baying as he gave his once-over to the standard poodle. And when he completed his observations, he needed four minutes before he pointed to the winner: Uno, the beagle, or Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, who will turn 3 in May.

Snoopy would be pleased. His breed, long passed over for glory, had finally triumphed.

“He’s the most perfect beagle I’ve ever seen,” Jones said at a news conference, where Uno hopped on the judge’s legs trying to get at his water.

“If you saw him, you saw that perfectly smooth locomotion. Not one muscle went the wrong way. Look at his face, you melt right down."

He added: “That was a beautiful lineup of dogs. I’d give this dog a 10.”

Uno, the beagle, gets his due. And Snoopy and Rascal take a bow in that big doghouse in the sky.

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan, "The Beagle has Landed!"