Editorial: June 21, 2024

That old adage, adapted from the title of a 1940 novel by Thomas Wolfe —“You Can Never Go Home Again” — was proven wrong by “Sturz & Company” and the return of the Westminster Kennel Club to its home and February date at Madison Square Garden. It’s been four long years for the show, which moved twice to Lyndhurst in Tarrytown and then twice to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. It also saw two different club presidents during this time, and currently is under the leadership of Donald Sturz, a second-generation dog man who knew and understood the importance and prestige of Westminster and the place in holds in the history of American sport. Westminster still holds the title of second-oldest consecutive sporting event in the United States after the Kentucky Derby. The members held onto that place in history even when faced with the results of Covid, shut-downs and isolation, and loss of venue. Behind the scenes, club members of similar thinking worked religiously to find a solution that would include the return to Madison Square Garden, their ancestral home. While whispers were circulating about the return of Westminster to Manhattan that included breed judging at the spacious Javits Center and group and Best in Show judging at Madison Square Garden, the club held back its formal announcement until the appropriate time with respect to the tennis center, where their recent show was held. Organizing the show date (now back to its Monday and Tuesday dates in February) and securing the Javits Center and Madison Square Garden was no easy task, but as a result the Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs of the Year Awards Dinner partnered with Dog News will be held on the Saturday evening preceding the dog show. Welcome back to New York, New York, and take that, Thomas Wolfe — you can go home again.