14 February, 2017
This is What's Trending Today...
You probably have heard about the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
The four-day event opened last Saturday in New York City.
The world-famous competition, known as "America's Dog Show," dates back to 1877.
Today around 200 breeds of dogs from across America and several other countries take part in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The dogs compete against each other in different groups, based on their breeds.
An overall winner takes the "Best in Show" prize.
One dog that will not be taking home a prize this year is a beagle named Mia. But she has already won the hearts of people across the country. As the Washington Post newspaper wrote, Mia "absolutely stole the show."
Earlier this week, Mia the beagle took part in the agility competition. The event requires dogs to run, jump over bars, and climb over objects. The dogs must complete the entire course quickly.
Trainers work with the dogs to teach them to ignore noises, smells or other possible distractions.
Mia, however, was not able to ignore the distractions. When it was her turn to compete, she stopped to smell the ground. She wandered away from the course. She bent over to lick herself. The crowd then started to laugh and make noises, which distracted the animal even more.
Mia finally finished the event in 66 seconds. That was more than 30 seconds slower than the fastest competitors that day.
The television announcer called it, "a delightfully entertaining run."
A video of Mia's performance soon went viral on social media. People said they liked that Mia acted like a normal dog.
One person wrote, "Mia wanted to do her best at the agility course, but she also just wanted to be a dog and do dog things."
Another wrote, "Mia the beagle is a hero."
And that's What's Trending Today.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
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Words in This Story
breed - n. a particular kind of dog, cat, horse, etc. : a kind of animal that has been produced by breeding
beagle - n. a type of small dog used for hunting that has smooth black, brown, and white fur
win the hearts (of someone). - expression.
steal the show - expression.
agility - n. the ability to move quickly and easily
course - n. a path or route that runners, skiers, bikers, etc., move along especially in a race
distraction - n. something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention
wander - v. to go away from a path, course, etc.
delightfully - adv. in a way that is very pleasant