{"id":276101,"date":"2021-06-14T21:20:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T18:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/westminster-dog-show-winner-wasabi-sparks-controversy\/"},"modified":"2021-06-14T21:20:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T18:20:23","slug":"westminster-dog-show-winner-wasabi-sparks-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/westminster-dog-show-winner-wasabi-sparks-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"#Westminster dog show winner Wasabi sparks controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Westminster dog show winner Wasabi sparks controversy<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Wasabi\u2019s first 24 hours of stardom have been ruff.<\/p>\n

The Pekingese who won the coveted Best in Show title at Sunday\u2019s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is fetching online criticism for allegations of animal mistreatment and cultural app<\/a>ropriation, along with sheer surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s not to like about this dog?\u201d show judge Patricia Trotter rhetorically asked Sunday.<\/p>\n

Well, Twitter<\/a> answered Monday \u2014 and they had a bone to pick.<\/p>\n

One user, Jemima Harrison<\/a>, pointed out how the unnaturally overgrown dog had to be kept on a cooling pad, calling it \u201cthe terrible price these poor dogs pay for human vanity.\u201d <\/p>\n

That was a bone of contention for other users, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t hate, just wish we wouldn\u2019t breed dogs to have such unnatural and harmful characteristics. We have it in our power to change this,\u201d one critic<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Others more bluntly sniffed out Wasabi\u2019s looks.<\/p>\n

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Wasabi wins the Westminster Dog Show in the US \u2013 sitting on a cooling pack to stop him overheating (in the air-conditioned arena\u2026). Second pic, what a champ Peke looks like on the inside. The terrible price these poor dogs pay for human vanity. pic.twitter.com\/NQrBZLkOwk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jemima Harrison (@JemimaHarrison) June 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a dog. This is what comes out of my dryer vent when I get it cleaned,\u201d one person tweeted<\/a> about the apparently lint-looking canine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreeding & keeping dogs like these should be illegal in the 21st [century],\u201d wrote another Twitter user<\/a>. \u201cI mean why is that good? It\u2019s a thing to carry, place on a cushion, groom. What kind of pet is that? The \u2018dog\u2019 does not care how \u2018mean\u2019 anyone is on Twitter FFS. He just wants to breath [sic] properly.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Many
Many fans and viewers felt Wasabi\u2019s looks were cruel to the dog\u2019s well-being.<\/figcaption>
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Peke\u2019s name \u2014 derived from the spicy Japanese paste often paired with sushi, which is his mother\u2019s name \u2014 was in critics\u2019 crosshairs also because his handler, breeder and co-owner is a white man named David Fitzpatrick.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, an hour ago: Yay, a Chinese breed won the Westminster Dog Show! Me now: Wait, this white man named the dog Wasabi,\u201d James Yeung<\/a> tweeted.<\/p>\n

CNN anchor John Berman also barked up the dog show\u2019s tree<\/a>, criticizing that neither a Lab nor a golden retriever has ever won the elite competition. He noted that it\u2019s the fifth time a \u201crarefied,\u201d \u201cinbred\u201d Pekingese won.<\/p>\n

The Post has reached out to Westminster for comment.\n <\/p><\/div>\n