Ch. My Own Brucie (May 4, 1935–June 9, 1943) was a male

American Cocker Spaniel The American Cocker Spaniel is a breed of sporting dog. It is a spaniel type dog that is closely related to the English Cocker Spaniel; the two breeds diverged during the 20th century due to differing breed standards in the US and the UK. In the ...

who was the

Best in Show Best in Show may refer to: * ''Best in Show'' (film), a 2000 film written and directed by Christopher Guest * ''Best in Show'' (Grinspoon album), 2005 * ''Best in Show'' (Jackyl album), 2012 * The Best in Show award (BIS), or the Best in Show co ...

at the

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, held annually in the New York metropolitan area. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs are required to be on ...

in 1940 and 1941. He was sired by

popular sire The popular sire effect (or popular stud/sire syndrome) occurs when an animal with desirable attributes is bred repeatedly. In dog breeding, a male dog that wins respected competitions becomes highly sought after, as breeders believe the sire posse ...

Red Brucie and died as a result of a kidney and liver ailment. Obituaries described him as the most photographed dog in the world.

Early life

My Own Brucie was the youngest son of Red Brucie, a dog that sired 36 champions. Red Brucie was considered by dog breeders of the time to be the father of the modern Cocker Spaniel, something which is referred to as the

popular sire effect The popular sire effect (or popular stud/sire syndrome) occurs when an animal with desirable attributes is bred repeatedly. In dog breeding, a male dog that wins respected competitions becomes highly sought after, as breeders believe the sire posse ...

. My Own Brucie was reported to have a stubborn streak, and on occasion even his owner could not change the dog's mind.

Show career

In 1938, he became Best American Bred Sporting Dog of the Year, awarded by the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

. In 1939, he won his first group at Westminster and went on to win a best in show at the Morris and Essex Kennel Club. In the best in show class at Westminster in 1940, Brucie faced a

Saluki The Saluki or Persian hound (Persian:سگ تازی، Arabic: سلوقي) is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than strong scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game ...

, a

Brussels Griffon The Griffon Bruxellois or Brussels Griffon is a breed of toy dog, named for their city of origin of Brussels, Belgium. The Griffon Bruxellois may refer to three different breeds, the Griffon Bruxellois, the Griffon Belge and the Petit Brabanço ...

, a

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, a

Chow Chow The Chow Chow is a spitz-type of dog breed originally from Northern China. The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears with rounded tips. The breed is known for a very dense do ...

and a

Smooth Fox Terrier The Smooth Fox Terrier is a breed of dog, one of many terrier breeds. It was the first breed in the fox terrier family to be given official recognition by The Kennel Club (circa 1875; breed standard 1876). It is well known, and although not a ...

. The

terrier Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

, Ch. Normay Saddler, had been judged best in show at 51 different shows. Dr. Samuel Milbank conducted the judging and said of My Own Brucie, "He was in the most beautiful bloom, he is a real champion." Brucie was the first dog to win the

Sporting Group Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and sk ...

and the McGivern Challenge Bowl at Westminster on successive occasions and one of only two dogs to have won this group on three successive occasions. The other dog to match that achievement was

Gordon Setter The Gordon Setter is a Scottish large dog breed, breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundo ...

Ch. Bit O Gold Titan Treasure between 1997 and 1999. At the time of his victory at Westminster in 1941, Brucie lived part-time at a

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

kennel and part-time at his owner's home in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

. His owner, Herman Mellenthin, had refused several large offers for him, including one for $10,000 and one for $15,000. Following his third victory, he and his owner were honored with a testimonial dinner in his hometown. These victories came during a period when the

was the most popular breed in America.

After Westminster

By the time of his death, at the age of 8 to a kidney and liver ailment, he was owned by Sgt. and Mrs. Peter Garvan of

Roslyn, New York Roslyn ( ) is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the Greater Roslyn area's anchor community. The population was 2,988 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

following the death of Herman Mellenthin in 1942. His death was considered untimely as he had only reached middle age for his breed. Following his death, obituaries were published on the front page of the ''

New York Evening Sun ''The Sun'' was a New York newspaper published from 1833 until 1950. It was considered a serious paper, like the city's two more successful broadsheets, ''The New York Times'' and the ''New York Herald Tribune''. ''The Sun'' was the first succ ...

'', the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and ''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', which called him the most photographed dog in the world.

References

External links

Video of Ch. My Own Brucie winning best in show at the Morris and Essex Kennel Club in 1939.
{{Westminster Best in Show 1935 animal births 1943 animal deaths Best in Show winners of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Early life

Show career

After Westminster

See also

References

External links