Even the pooches who didn’t win still wagged their tails and grinned ear to ear.

By Madison Kim, for the Community News Service

WINOOSKI — People and their pets came to show off tricks, costumes and even bad breath at the Best Pooch in the Noosk dog show last Sunday.

Among them was Norbert, a black lab named after the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon from the Harry Potter universe, who patiently waited for his turn in a shiny metallic shark costume at the Winooski Farmers Market. One by one, he and his fellow furry contestants trotted in front of the crowd, twirling, jumping, rolling over and shaking paws with their owners to impress the judges. Onlookers clapped and cheered as each dog performed.

Impressing the judges and audience was Bisous, an energetic 1-year-old beagle who wowed the crowd by standing on his hindlegs, walking around his owner and sitting between her legs on command.

Eleven-year-old Azalea Mackay-Tisbert, Bisous’s owner, decided to enter the competition because she thought “Bisous would be really good for the tricks.”

They had trained for a couple months, Mackay-Tisbert said.

The prep paid off, as the pair took first place in the trick.

Tents lined the event from Vermont organizations, such as Pasture Pet in Richmond and For the Love of Dogs Vermont rescue in Waitsfield, and national outfits such as Sit Means Sit, a dog training program with a Vermont branch.

Melissa Goldberg, director of For the Love of Dogs Vermont, spearheads efforts to rescue and care for puppies until adoption. She brought along two puppies looking for new homes to the event: Mojito, a 6-month-old pitty boxer mix, and Sangria, a 4 ½-month-old mixed breed.

“They were found in a wire crate on a dirt road in the sun in Louisiana,” her foster director Jenny said.

Debbie Safran, owner of the Houndstooth pet boutique in Burlington, was at the show to represent her store and a 5K put on by Chase Away K9 Cancer, part of a national nonprofit to fight canine cancer.

“One in three dogs will be diagnosed with canine cancer in their lifetime,” Safran said. “Our run raises money to fund research grants. It’s super fun and low stress — you can run it or walk it — and there will be prizes.”

The competition wrapped up with an awards ceremony. Even the pooches who didn’t win still wagged their tails and grinned ear to ear.

Norbert may have not grabbed the top costume award, but he still walked away with one: worth breath. The title came with a basket filled with $50 worth of goodies from local businesses.

Indie, a small brown dog with curly fur, took home the Dog Who Looks Most Like Their Human prize, as she matched her owner’s brown curly hair.

Sarah Brunkhorst, market manager and lead organizer for the event, was eager to help host the dog show for a second time.

“We decided to bring it back because it was so much fun and it’s a really fun one to plan,” she said. “We’re really happy to be able to support a rescue with it too. The rain was a little bit of a damper today, but we still had so much fun.”

The show started in 2017. After a few years of hiatus, local pets returned to the farmers market in 2024.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News