Since its humble beginnings 130 years ago, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – which has hosted World War I hero dogs and dogs owned by philanthropist JP Morgan and baseball great Lou Gehrig – has become an international staple on the dog show circuit.

The 130th annual show is fast approaching and will be held Monday and Tuesday, February 13 and 14, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. More than 160 breeds and 2,500 dogs will be judged. Individual breed judging will be held each day between 8:30 am and 6 pm with the Group and Best in Show competition to be held each night on USA Network from 8 to 11 pm.

As you prepare for the competition, here is Part II (1934-present) of the timeline of events beginning with the inception of the Westminster Breeding Association:

1934 – The Children’s Handling Grand Challenge Trophy is offered for the first time at Westminster. Later to be known as Junior Handling, this competition continues to be part of Westminster every year.

1935 – Mrs. Sherman Hoyt handles her Standard Poodle to BIS, the first such win ever for a woman handler, a feat that would not be repeated until 1956.

1941 – The show is changed from three days to a two-day event.

1946 – A tugboat strike causes New York Mayor William O’Dwyer to close the city down on the eve of the dog show. Business was allowed to resume 24 hours later, by that time forcing Westminster to make arrangements to hold its show in one day instead of two. Using 17 rings and a makeshift schedule that kept all rings in constant use, Best In Show was awarded by 12:15 am that night, 15 minutes earlier than the year before.

1948 – Television coverage of Westminster takes place for the first time.

1951 – The boxer, Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest, becomes the first dog from West of the Mississippi to win Best In Show at Westminster.

1956 – Anne Hone Rogers (later Mrs. James Edward Clark) becomes the first woman professional handler and the second female to handle a dog to the Best In Show award.

1968 – Lakeland terrier Ch. Stingray of Derryabah becomes the first dog to win Best In Show at Westminster after winning the same award at Crufts, Westminster’s London counterpart.

1968 – The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the final event of any kind held at Madison Square Garden III. In 1969, the show moves to Madison Square Garden IV, its present location.

1969 – A bitter snowstorm cripples the New York area and plays havoc with Westminster’s first show at the new Garden.

1972 – The English Springer Spaniel Ch. Chinoe’s Adamant James captures his second consecutive Best In Show at Westminster, becoming the seventh dog – and, so far, last – with multiple BIS wins.

1976 – William W. Brainard, Jr. becomes the first person to judge Best In Show three times, a mark that is still unmatched.

1983 – Ch. Kabik’s The Challenger, an Afghan Hound, becomes only the third Hound – and, for far, last – to win Best In Show.

1989 – A red Doberman Pinscher bitch, Ch. Royal Tudor’s Wild as the Wind CD, becomes the first dog with an obedience title to capture Best In Show.

1992 – Westminster becomes the first Champions Only dog show held under AKC rules. Awards of Merit are added to the awards, the exact number given to be a function of the number of entries in each breed or variety.

1993 – After capturing Best In Show the previous year, Ch. Registry’s Lonesome Dove, a Wire Fox Terrier, fails in an attempt to repeat the win when it is awarded third place in the Terrier Group. This is the last time that a BIS winner has tried to repeat.

1997 – Ch. Parsifal Di Casa Netzer, a Standard Schnauzer, becomes the first Italian bred dog to win Best In Show.

1999 – “Kirby,”, a spunky Papillon officially known as Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being, becomes the oldest dog ever to win Best In Show. He is eight years, one month and ten days old. With this win, he becomes the first dog in the world to win both the World Dog Show (he won Best In Show at Helsinki over 17,000-plus dogs in 1998).

2003 – Ch. Torums Scarf Michael, a Kerry Blue terrier, captures Best In Show, becoming only the second dog to win both Westminster and Crufts.

2005 – The German shorthaired pointer, Carlee, became only the second member of its breed to capture Best in Show in the 129-year history of Westminster.

NOTE: Only three places other than Madison Square Garden (in its various incarnations) have hosted the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – the Gilmore Gardens (1877-1879), the American Institute Fair Building (1890) and the Grand Central Palace (1920).