Campus & Beyond

Cornell Vets Went to Westminster—and Came Back with Photos!

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Need a mood boost? Enjoy a visual feast of precious pooches (and Big Red docs) at one of the world's premier dog shows

By Beth Saulnier

On a not-quite-typical day at the office, Brian Collins, DVM ’94, made some new friends. There was Ava, who adores hugs. And Hugh, who loves nothing more than doing cannonballs into the water. And then there was a part-time actor and model named ... Lord Queso von Taco?

An extension veterinarian with Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center, Collins was part of a team of Big Red DVMs and other staffers who provided care at the 2024 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held at the National Tennis Center in Queens, NY, in mid-May.

Dr. Brian Collins getting a kiss from a Boston terrier — Dr. Collins gets a smooch from Lord Queso.

(And for the record: Hugh is a chocolate Lab, Ava is a great Dane, and his lordship is a Boston terrier.)

For four delightful days, the Cornell team served as Westminster's official vets—working with doggies of all shapes and sizes who were competing in the show's various events, which include not just conformation but agility, obedience, and dock diving.

For four delightful days, the Cornell team served as Westminster’s official vets—working with doggies of all shapes and sizes.

It is, in short, a ruff job—but somebody's gotta do it.

And the Big Red has filled the role since 2019, in a collaboration by the Riney Center, Cornell University Hospital for Animals, and Cornell University Veterinary Specialists. (The first two are based in Ithaca and the latter in Stamford, CT.)

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(Video by John Enright)

Happily, CVM sent a photographer along. And he took lots of pictures—so many that we here at Cornellians had a hard time choosing just a dozen and a half.

(Again: ruff job! But our full-time staff has a 100% rate of dog ownership, and we are deeply qualified for this assignment.)

So feast your eyes on the following parade of pulchritudinous pooches!

And while only a select few of the competitors came home with championship ribbons, we can promise you this much without sacrificing our journalistic objectivity: they are all very, very good dogs.