Hickory's First 24 Hours of Canine Celebrity

Follow Westminster's Best in Show on her media tour, with links to her appearances! What a Westminster week!

From the parties, ceremonial dinners, charity fundraisers, breed upsets, ring intrigues and international players of the two legged and four legged varieties, Westminster could easily set the stage for a K-9 best-selling novel.

But after the green was pulled up, the lights were turned off and the Westminster Kennel Club members headed home from their private celebration held in the Play by Play Club at Madison Square Garden, it is hard to image as dog tired as I was, that I was waking up at 4:00 a.m. to spend the day after the win as a tag-a-long on the Westminster Media Tour.

But I was there, giving the play by play to the Petside.com readers, the Twitterverse and Facebook friends how a Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show Winner spends her first 24 hours of celebrity.

On Wednesday, February 16th, I met GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, a.k.a. "Hickory," a Scottish Deerhound and her lovely and determined handler, Angela Lloyd, along with her beautiful mother Gwen, quirky and fashionable owner Sally Sweat, soft-spoken breeder and co-owner, Cecilia Dove, David Frei-the voice of the famed dog show for 20+ years, a photographer, camera crew and other staffers in the lobby of the New Yorker Hotel at 5:30 a.m. For a dog that had only a few hours of sleep, Hickory looked heavenly.

The few folks who knew that I was going on the media tour, were quite curious how Hickory was going to get in and out of a van all day. I figure if she can chases deer on a fifty acre spread in Virginia with her doggie peeps how difficult can it be for her to take a few steps up and down and in and out of a van.

First stop on the tour was Fox & Friends where Gretchen Carlson and Brian Kilmeade met Hickory and interviewed Angela and David. Brian was extremely enamored with Hickory stately presence calling her "majestic." While the interview was going on mommas Gwen and Cil were tearing up watching their babies on television. At that point, I decided to stop by the make-up room for a box of tissues because this reporter had a feeling there was going to be a lot of tears of joy and pride on this world tour.

After Fox, Hickory and her entourage stopped by the Today Show.

While David and Angela had make-up and hair done, it was decided that Hickory looked her best au natural, as that strategy did make her Tuesday's night winner. While on air, Meredith Vieria implied that Hickory was a favorite going in to the Best in Show ring because the Best in Show Judge Paolo Dondina of Monterchi, Italy was a Hound man, but David Frei quickly explained that at this level of competition whomever the judge, the handler and dog just "gotta show." As we were leaving the station, some parents asked if Hickory and Angela could pose for a picture with their daughter. Angela obligated. Large Hickory was so calm while Angela showed the little girl how to interact and pet her charge.

Prior to meeting the anchor team, Hickory had to tackle the stairs at CBS . Angela carefully navigated Hicks down the stairs to victory. Moreover, only when they are puppies, do most dog owners think about our dogs climbing up and down the stairs. Who would think that this could be a challenge for a BIS Winner! Additionally, although Chris Wragge is the lead anchor on the show, it was the new Jeff Glor whom figured out who Hickory was. He liked her because she was a "country girl" who was happy with glamour of the farm.

At Fox 5 News Good Day New York, Angela noted that Hickory eats Purina ProPlan and other Purina products to stay in top form.

At the Martha Stewart Show, Happy Day was celebrated and everyone was wearing yellow. To make Angie fit it, they accessorized her with a bright yellow scarf. While at Martha, Hickory didn't have much face time, but we did learn that she is the tallest dog to win Westminster while Angela was the first Best Junior Handler (1998) to go Best in Show.

If Hicks, her handler or owners didn't believe that she was a celebrity before they entered the Empire State Building , they knew it after a flurry of flurry photographers greeted her enthusiastically with clicking cameras on the observation deck. Just like last year with Gabriel and Sadie, I got my picture taken with Angela and Hickory inside. Can't wait to see the pictures taken by photographer Mary Bloom!

Finally, Rachel Ray's people stopped calling. There was no time in the schedule on Wednesday or Thursday for Hickory and Angela to stop by. Maybe, next year, Ray's producers will plan ahead and remember Westminister is always the second Monday and Tuesday of the month of February. It is unfortunate that Rachel couldn't meet Hickory because she is such a dog lover.

For lunch, our group stopped at Sardis so that Hickory could eat steak on a silver platter. Unlike past year, the waiter Argon did not serve her but owner Max Klimavicius served the dog Filet Mignon medium rare. To his dismay, she did not eat. "Hickory's had a very busy morning," Klimavicius said. "I guess the lights and cameras did not stimulate the appetite." But as Angie said, "Steak is not her favorite." Maybe, he should have offered her chicken or fish instead-it's on the menu. Eventually, she ate the filet and lied down in the corner on Cil's coat for a nap.

After an eat and run, Hicks went off to Bloomberg with David and Angie to meet Carol Massar and Matt Miller of "Street Smart." While at the show, the big question "Was how much does it cost to show a dog at this level?" Both David and Angie admitted it costs between $100-$200K to show a seasoned dog, like Hickory. Carol was also curious if the downturn in the economy over the past few year affected the second oldest sporting event in the United States. David noted that entries and attendance have been pretty consistent for the last thirty years. "But for so many, dog showing is a career and/or a hobby, they will spend for the passion," says Frei.

The most exciting stop of the day was visiting with the Trump Organization on New York City's 5th Avenue for a meet and greet with Donald Trump. Upon our arrival, socialite Karen LeFrak was there to greet us. LeFrak was coming to give her good pal, Donald, a copy of her new children's book, Best in Show, and pose for pictures with Hickory and Trump. Once in his office, The Donald mentioned that he was cheering for Hickory because he liked a good Scot; his mother was Scottish.

After visiting Trump, the tour continued with visits to: Fox News again for having a more of a personal chat than an interview with Shepard Smith; to LXTV, Ronald McDonald House to visit with young cancer patients and on to NBC Nightly News with Melissa Russo.

Although exhausted this morning (Thursday, February 17th), the Westminster World Media Tour continued with its last stop at the New York Stock Exchange where a tired breeder, handler, mother and four-legged star rang the opening bell. Later in the day, Hickory and her posse headed home to Virginia with a stop off at Handler Ernesto Lara's place in Pennsylvania. In this next chapter, in Hickory's life, we wish her the "Best" of luck!

Images By: Charlotte Reed

Charlotte Reed, a pet trend and lifestyle expert, is the author of "The Miss Fido Manners Complete Book of Dog Etiquette (Adams Media)."