NEW YORK CITY, New York – Some final news and notes from the 128th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held Monday and Tuesday, February 9 and 10, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

wRECORD ATTENDANCE: The paid attendance for the two days of the 128th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was a record 32,579 at Madison Square Garden. In addition, each day’s paid attendance was also a record (16,147 for Monday and 16,432 for Tuesday).

wTELEVISION RATINGS: USA Network’s live coverage of the dog show reached 7.4 million viewers in five million homes in its two nights. Viewing peaked at the end of the show when Josh was crowned Best In Show. In the last quarter hour of the show, ratings hit a 4.4 mark with 5.8 million viewers tuning in. Overall, USA Network was the top rated basic cable network in prime time for the night.

wUSA NETWORK TOPS RATINGS: According to Multichannel News (2/23), USA Network was the top-rated cable network during the week of the dog show, edging Turner Network Television in the midst of the February sweeps period. USA averaged a 2.6 household rating from Feb. 9 through 15. TNT, which televised the NBA All-Star Game, was second with a 2.3 mark. Others in the week’s top 10 included Nickelodeon 2.0, Disney Channel 1.8, Cartoon Network 1.5, TBS Superstation 1.4, Lifetime 1.4, Fox News Channel 1.2, The History Channel 1.1, Sci Fi 1.1.

wPOSTER SOLD OUT: “Westminster. There’s only one”, Westminster’s first-ever commemorative poster, is sold out. Proceeds from the sales are being donated to the Animal Medical Center in New York City. Special limited edition prints were given to all of the judges as gifts and some will be made available for public sale. Plans are pending to do something special with the original painting as a fundraiser.

wINTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE: Westminster issued almost 500 press credentials to media representing about 20 countries. Among those covering were the BBC, preparing a feature about Westminster to air on its coverage of the Crufts Dog Show from Birmingham, England.

wJOSH MEDIA TOUR: On Wednesday following the show, Best In Show winner Josh (the Newfoundland formally known as Ch. Darbydale’s All Rise Pouch Cove) and his people were on Good Morning America, CNN, Fox News Channel, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra!, Charlie Rose, and Late Night with David Letterman, (where Josh and handler Michelle Ostermiller presented the Nightly Top Ten List of “Top Ten Perks for Winning Best In Show at Westminster).

wABC NEWS “PERSON OF THE WEEK”: ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings featured Westminster’s Best In Show Judge Burton J. Yamada as “Person of the Week” on the Friday following the dog show.

wNEWSPAPER CARTOONS FEATURE JOSH: Josh was also featured in a sports page cartoon by the world-famous Bill Gallo in the New York Daily News, and in an editorial page cartoon in the Washington Post.

wSPECTACULAR EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: The world’s most famous building, the Empire State Building, presented a spectacular sight on Monday and Tuesday nights, lit in the Westminster colors of purple and gold in honor of the world’s most famous dog show.

wDVD AVAILABLE: For the first time ever, a DVD of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is being made available as a nationally distributed, mainstream retail release.

wRECORD-SETTING AP-PEARANCE: After judging the Sporting Group on Monday evening, Mrs. James Edward Clark became the first person ever to have judged all seven groups at Westminster. She has also judged BIS, won BIS three times as handler, once as a breeder, and also bred a BIS dog (2002).

wNEXT YEAR’S SHOW: The 129th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will be held on February 14-15, 2005. The judging panel will be announced in May.