LiveWire

While they won’t be in the beauty contest part of the dog show, mixed breed ‘All American Dogs’ will be in the Westminster Dog Show’s agility competition, airing Saturday night. Should be fun! The main dog show will air Monday and Tuesday night from New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Via Time.

This year, for the first time ever, mutts — formally dubbed “all American dogs” — will be allowed to participate in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Feb. 8. The nation’s premiere canine event has a long history of only allowing purebreds to compete, the Associated Press reports.

Mutts will join the purebreds in the First Masters Agility Championship, a skills-based competition that’s “all about brains — brains and speed,” show chairman Tom Bradley said at a news conference Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. “Agility dogs are not designer dogs — or they don’t have to be.”

The change may have come as a response to animal rights supporters who argue that promoting dog breeding is unethical. Many mutts need to find homes — 60 percent of dogs in shelters are euthanized — and should be promoted as desirable pets. While Bradley would not say whether such criticism of the show drove their decision, he did admit that “purebred dogs have taken a bit of a rap” recently.

Mutts Get Their Day at Westminster Dog Show

For all details, including television air times visit the official Westminster Kennel Club.