Mutts Break 125-Year-Old Fur Barrier

Once when a bunch of us were tripping on mushrooms, two of my friends got into discussion about which type of dog was best. One of them was asserting the superiority of golden retrievers, like the one his family had had when he was a kid, over all other breeds when a look of self-reflective horror came over his face. “Wait a minute,” he said, “does that make me a racist?” We all agreed that yes, it definitely did. But times change! And this past weekend, a blow was struck for equality when two brave dogs, Otis and Diesel, took the stage at an American Kennel Club sponsored dog show at the Mattaponi Kennel Club in Northern Virginia.

Otis (that’s him on the left in the photo) and Diesel, you see, are not golden retrievers or collies, or any other pure breed dog. They are mutts.

As Discovery reports: “Finally, after 125 years of its existence, the American Kennel Club is letting mutts, or ‘All Americans,’ compete in AKC shows in their own category. The ‘All American’ dogs won’t be judged on breed standards, but instead on agility, rally and obedience.”

Otis finished third in the rally competition Sunday. Suck it, racists!