It never ceases to amaze me how the ring of the phone, a split second event, or a spontaneous decision can decisively alter our intended course of action. It had been my original intention to write a column on this year’s Westminster Kennel Club show and the events leading up to it — the opening of the AKC’s Museum of the Dog, the annual Meet the Breeds, Agility and Obedience championships — but that dramatically changed when the Westminster Kennel Club winner was booed. How does that happen at such an austere event that celebrates man’s best friend?!

In 1973, I attended my very first Westminster Kennel Club show at Madison Square Garden. I loved every minute of it! The pageantry, the pomp and circumstance — but most of all, I loved the dogs. For the 46 years I’ve been attending the show, the thought of a dog being booed would never have crossed anyone’s mind. Booing is reserved for major sports events like baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.

As the years passed, something was happening with the Westminster Kennel Club and dog shows in general — changing attitudes towards show dogs and those who supported them was becoming more apparent, and a media blitz favoring canine rescue organizations was on the rise. A pervasive divisiveness between the groups was coming to the forefront. Protests were greeting the spectators attending the show, and the media machine was influencing the attitudes of all those who care about dogs. Whatever your belief, every dog deserves a good home.

This year’s 143rd Westminster Kennel Club’s Best in Show was marred by the awkward disqualifications of a Schipperke, who was deemed ineligible due to a conflict of interest between his owners and the Best in Show judge. A spokeswoman for the Westminster Kennel Club said there was a disqualifying relationship between the owners and the judge’s family, which remains unclear.

This led many viewers to complain that the Non-Sporting group, and in particular the Schipperke, was deprived of competing for the top prize. When the Wire-Fox terrier was selected for Best in show, the booing began — unheard of at this event. In the past, stunned silence was the general reaction, but that has now been replaced by booing. For a brief moment, I thought I was at a New York Knicks basketball game

Since the inception of organized sports, booing has been part of fan behavior. Political and entertainment events are also where booing has become the acceptable form of audience response to an unacceptable or poor performance. Recently, the practice of booing has widely come under rampant criticism. The opinion is often expressed that to boo a poor performance is unkind and demonstrates a lack of civility and sportsmanship. However, the rebuttal response would be a combination of booing and applause helps keep the quality of public performance high by emotionally rewarding the good and punishing the bad.

Fans boo to express their frustration and disappointment...it makes them feel better. Spectators can vent their frustrations at games, events, players, entertainers, politicians, and now, it would appear, dog show judges and even the dogs themselves. They can’t do this anywhere else in their everyday lives — if they exhibited this type of behavior at home or work, there would be serious consequences.

In a society fascinated with success, fame, and celebrity, it’s easy to understand that many fans can relate to canines, after all, so many of us own dogs. There are many explanations for this attraction. In most cases, the relationship fans feel with dogs can best described as parasocial. Parasocial relationships are attractive and make fans feel safe, as they come without any risk of criticism or rejection. People like to invest themselves in all types of things. Dogs are the creatures in whom we see ourselves in varying ways. We tend to attribute characteristics to dogs that just aren’t there, but we wish to see those characteristics in dogs.

The Sussex Spaniel, Beans, a crowd favorite, has an adorable face and a smart trick of sitting on his haunches-almost as if he were “asking” for the win. A round, sweet face with big, brown eyes has special appeal and draws in the crowd, whereas the Wire Fox Terrier, King, has a sharp expression, making no mistakes as he trotted along the green carpet — never putting a paw down in the wrong place. Every dog in the ring was a worthy candidate to win, but a judge’s selection will always be of a subjective nature.

But could it be that our disappointment comes from the simple fact that we’re prone to picking favorites, and our choices in some way represent us. Simply stated, if my selection loses, I somehow lost; if my choice wins, I’ve won something. Does it really matter which dog wins Best in Show, just as it ultimately doesn’t matter which team wins the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Kentucky Derby?

We all want to be more than what we are, but if your favorite dog didn’t win, don’t take it personally; there’s always next year!

Margaret A. Reed, PhD, is the coauthor of the best-selling book The Dogs of Camelot, an AKC dog show judge, thoroughbred racehorse owner, principal of Canine Training and Behavior Services LLC, and she serves on the board of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, James A Baker Institute for Animal Health.