Banana Joe, a five year old Affenpinscher, won Best In Show in the 137^th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday night.  I don’t know if this helped, but his owner, Mikeje Cooijmans, says he speaks 4 languages.  He lives in the Netherlands, so that may explain his multi-lingualism.  I’m not very good with exotic breeds and there were 187 breeds represented out of the 2721 entries, but I had never heard of an Affenpinscher.  I don’t have any as clients. 

        There is an Affenpinscher Rescue group.  According to the American Kennel Club’s website, the Affenpinscher is one of the most ancient of the toy dogs and originated in Germany and France.  During the 17^th century, they were used to kill rats in barns and homes.  They were actually bred down in size.   They are described as having a fun-loving, sometimes mischievous personality. They are very active indoors and most of their exercise needs can be met inside, but they like walks outside as well.  They range in size from 9 to 11 ½ inches at the shoulder.  For more information about the breed you can go the Affenpinscher Club of America’s website.

    Banana Joe had entered the show the previous two years, but he finished second in toy group judging each time.  However this win was the 86^th Best In Show title for “Joe.”  The crowd favorite appeared to be Swagger, a 20 month old English Sheepdog.  Banana Joe’s full name is GCH Banana Joe V Tani Kazar.  The banana reference comes because of the breed’s monkey-like face.  Affenpinscher is translated from German as Monkey Terrier.  Here’s a link to a video of his appearance on the Today Show this morning.

    If you have any experience with an Affenpinscher, I’d love to see pictures and hear about them. 

 Fetch! Pet Care of NW Atlanta provides pet sitting, dog walking and cat care services for Roswell, East Cobb, Woodstock and Kennesaw, GA.  You can see the happy pets by following us on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fetchnwatlanta/.