The American Kennel Club National Championship 2022 took place Dec. 18-19 in Orlando, Florida. The event was aired on New Year’s Day. At each annual dog show, thousands of dogs compete for Best in Breed, where the winners will move on to fight for the title of Best in Group. There are seven dog groups in the competition: sporting, non-sporting, terrier, toy, hound, working, and herding.

The Best in Group winner for the hound group was Trumpet the bloodhound, who was also the winner of Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show in 2022. The winner of the sporting group was a Spinone Italiano named Josie. Star the bulldog won Best in Group for the non-sporting category.

Not only did Star win Best in Group, but she also won Best in Show. This year’s win marked Star’s 18th Best in Show overall. This was the first time ever that a bulldog managed to win the title of Best in Show for the American Kennel Club.

If you aren’t familiar with dog shows, you might not realize how impressive it is to win this title. Star had to compete against more than 5,000 other dogs to win Best in Show, and 30 other bulldogs to win Best in Breed. With a track record of 18 Best in Show wins, you’d be surprised to learn that Star is only three years old. She also had a litter of puppies in April 2021 and still managed to compete in dog shows across the country.

For most Americans, the AKC National Championship is nothing more than a way to pass the time by looking at dogs. However, for many others, it’s a great opportunity to show off all their hard work and dedication to raising their beloved canine companions to be “Stars.”