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REIGNING CATS AND DOGS

Their Majesties, canine and feline, held court in Madison Square Garden, where super dog and top cat were named this month in the Westminster and Empire shows, respectively.

The fancies' most prestigious events, the Westminster Kennel Club's 96th annual dog show and the Empire Cat Club's 55th annual championship show, are the supreme moments to owners, breeders and just plain animal fans, all of whose tribes seem to be increasing. The crowds pressing in for a look at some 400 cats shown in New York's Felt Forum were so great that ushers had to hold them back, and the Westminster last week, with over 3,000 entries, was the biggest since 1939. Dr. Milton E. Prickett's springer spaniel Ch. Chinoe's Adamant James—D.J. to friends—was best for the second year in a row, bringing his total best-in-show wins up to 60. Mrs. O'Hara's Persian, Fanci-Pantz, kitten of the year in 1971, took her 39th across-the-board best. Both the Westminster and the Empire shows offered for sale a number of items to make the lives (and in the case of the Westminster, the deaths) of pets more agreeable. There were special cat vitamins, indoor climbing tree houses, doggy stationery, mobile homes with built-in kennels and, for $10 down, plots in an animal cemetery. Obviously the shows were both a howling success and the cat's meow.

TWO PHOTOS

STEPHEN GREEN-ARMYTAGE

Champion Chinoe's Adamant James, an English springer spaniel, is posed by his handler.

PHOTO

STEPHEN GREEN-ARMYTAGE

Kilarney's Dolly O'Day and Ch. Kilarney's Mr. Dublin relax in boudoir.

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STEPHEN GREEN-ARMYTAGE

A silver-mackerel tabby, Ch. South Bay Gung-Ho, studies his admirers.

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STEPHEN GREEN-ARMYTAGE

Grand Champion Fanci-Pantz Petti Girl of Araho, a female Persian; inset, Fanci-Pantz with her ribbons and her owner, Mrs. Thomas O'Hara.