Vanity Fair

SKIP I was advised before entering the stalls of competitors at the Westminster dog show that I should think of the dogs as celebrities. Some are friendly and ready to socialize, like Habiba, a Sloughi who somehow managed to still be charming after 12 hours in a crate from Los Angeles to New York City. Others, I was told, are standoffish, and they’ll just give you their backs, don’t press it. I expected to encounter some haughty poodles who wouldn’t give me the time of day, but even the ones with the fussiest looking hairdos were warm and welcoming.Twinkle, a Brussels Griffon, gamely met my gaze as members of her entourage lifted each of her little limbs, one by one, and placed them back down. “She’s doing her yoga,” the attendant explained. A dachshund mid-neck trim, a Norwich terrier undergoing a sponge bath, an Old English sheepdog who had some serious rolling around to do: Not a one declined to sniff my hand.My mind was on “Best in Show,” Christopher Guest’s 2000 mockumentary about the handlers and dogs of a Westminster-esque competition. Clueless as to the particulars of dog shows, I had assumed the movie was a complete fiction. But wandering the stalls of dogs at the Javits Center this week, I felt almost as if I’d wandered onto the film’s set: the blow-drying and coat-spraying, the handlers in sparkly blazers, the seriousness with which the humans took the proceedings all appeared pretty accurate.“The first time I watched it, I was highly insulted,” this year’s best in show judge, David Fitzpatrick, told The Times. “I was like, ‘This is just awful, these people making fun of us.’ Then I watched it again and I started thinking, ‘Oh my God, they really have some of us pegged.’”The movie starred Catherine O’Hara, who died last week at 71, as Cookie Fleck, the owner of the terrier Winky who (spoiler alert) wins the title. At the final round of competition on Tuesday, a video tribute to O’Hara was shown. As daffy and over-the-top as Cookie and the rest of the characters are in “Best in Show,” watching the movie, one cannot help but be moved by the dogs, abiding valiantly not only through their fictional owners’ shenanigans, but also through the larger charade that is filmmaking. They have no idea they’re in a Hollywood production, just as the dogs at Westminster are clueless to the stakes of the competition. In all cases, they obediently go along with our human choreography, playing the role in which they’ve permanently been cast: Man’s Best Friend.It was tempting, as I encountered one genial canine after another, to draw a contrast between the mounds of snow banking Midtown Manhattan and the feeling of warmth inside the convention center, where one could pat Jet the Puli’s extraordinary corded coat and then be greeted cheerily by Mulder the Basenji, fresh off his award of merit. “There’s so much love in here!” I found myself thinking, and then wondered how much I was projecting. I, a human, perceived Greta, a piebald dachshund, to be showing me love because she lifted her glorious snoot to look at me as I touched her head. But Greta was having her dog emotions, whatever they were, if they were, and who knows how much she cared for the cooing and ogling of this admirer, never mind the rest of the besotted throngs.I started to feel self-conscious. After several hours of meeting and greeting, of reflexively pitching my voice into marshmallow register as I chatted with entrants, I asked a man and a woman ministering to a particularly adorable 3-year-old beagle named Stitch, “When you work with dogs, do you learn not to speak in baby talk to dogs all the time?” At this, Stitch stood up on his hind legs as if to show me he was no baby and I could have addressed my question to him.“I never spoke baby talk to my daughter,” the woman said, with the weariness of someone who had been listening to people babble at dogs all day and was just about done.“But it just comes naturally when you see something cute, right?” I asked, a little defensive, knowing that I was helpless to act dignified around these creatures.“They teach you in the behavior world as well, just speak to them normally,” the man said. He watched me melt as I noticed how big Stitch’s paws were compared with his body.“But everybody breaks the rules,” he said charitably.I like to believe Stitch nodded in agreement.And for more on dogs …Our Styles desk chose seven of the most unforgettable dogs from Westminster.If you want even more dog show photos, you can get your fill here.Here’s grooming and beauty advice from the handlers who keep show dogs looking pristine.A 10-year-old terrier mutt named Tintin, averse to flying, crossed the ocean on the Queen Mary 2.THE LATEST NEWSPoliticsImagePresident Trump in the Oval Office this week.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York TimesPresident Trump shared a racist video on social media that depicted the Obamas as apes. After members of both parties criticized the post, he deleted it.Trump administration officials offered to unfreeze funding for a major rail project if Senator Chuck Schumer agreed to rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after Trump.Work on that rail project, a tunnel under the Hudson River, halted yesterday. But a judge later ordered the administration to unlock the funding as a case proceeds through the courts.The government is seeking to expedite the deportation of Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy in a blue bunny hat who was detained in Minnesota.Other Big StoriesA top Russian general involved in intelligence gathering for the Ukraine war was shot in Moscow. Several military leaders have been attacked in Russia since the war began.China’s highest court overturned the death sentence of a Canadian man who had been convicted of drug smuggling. The case had been a source of diplomatic friction between the two countries.The stock market had its best day since May, and the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 50,000 points for the first time.The authorities are reviewing a new message in the kidnapping case of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of the “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, as they expand their investigation beyond Arizona.THE WEEK IN CULTUREFilm and TVImageA scene from “Sirat.”Credit...Neon“Sirat,” nominated for the best international film Oscar, follows a man searching for his lost daughter amid a group of ravers in the Sahara. Our critic calls it beguiling, flawed, bonkers and deeply moving.The actor Harry Melling, who played Harry Potter’s cruel cousin Dudley Dursley, bares all in the queer romance “Pillion.”TheaterA swift, stunning production of “King Lear” at La MaMa in Manhattan puts the entire cast in the title role.“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” will end its Broadway run this summer, thought it continues to be performed in cities around the globe.More CultureImageCredit...Guarionex Rodriguez for The New York TimesThe designer for the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show goes by Mr. Flower Fantastic and doesn’t show his face. He’s letting his art speak for itself.The Philadelphia Museum of Art is returning to that name, after a brief and ill-fated attempt to rebrand as the Philadelphia Art Museum.The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, a summer tradition on the National Mall, will vacate its usual spot this year for Trump’s Great American State Fair.CULTURE CALENDAR🎬 “Wuthering Heights” (Friday): There have been more than a dozen filmed versions of Emily Brontë’s canon gothic romance, and the results have been uneven. “When it comes to screen adaptations,” The Times wrote in 2012, “the novel may be the most misunderstood book of all time.” Here’s another try, this time from Emerald Fennell, the director of “Promising Young Woman” and “Saltburn.” Her aesthetic is apparent in the lusty, saturated trailer, and in the thumping soundtrack by Charli XCX. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi star as the star-crossed lovers Catherine and Heathcliff.RECIPE OF THE WEEKImageCredit...Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.Spinach, artichoke and yogurt dipThe Super Bowl is Sunday, which is the perfect excuse to whip up a big bowl of dip — whether you watch the game or not. Ashley Lonsdale’s light, tangy spinach, artichoke and yogurt dip is packed with enough vegetables and protein to make it satisfying enough for dinner, especially if you serve it with whole grain crackers or sliced baguette and even more vegetables. It’s best prepared ahead so the flavors have time to mingle. Make it today and it’ll be ready for kickoff.REAL ESTATEImageMarisa Lalli with her dog, Roxie.Credit...Graham Dickie for The New York TimesThe Hunt: Looking to fulfill her father’s wish that she find a permanent home, she sought a one-bedroom close to Central Park. Which did she choose? Play our game.What you get for $530,000: A 2020 remodel in Columbus, Ohio, a 1935 farmhouse in Mentone, Ala., and a 1930 bungalow in Houston.Living small: How an unfinished basement in a Washington, D.C., rowhouse transformed into the most attractive space in the home.LIVINGImageJim and Rachel Van Eerden’s cabin in Stokesdale, N.C.Credit...Sebastian Siadecki for The New York TimesSeeking stability: After a divorce, some families let the children stay in the family home full-time while the parents rotate in and out, a practice known as “bird nesting”; experts say there are pros and cons.Drug discounts: A new government website, TrumpRx.gov, aims to help Americans to buy cheaper medications. Here is a guide to using it.ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTERThe best Valentine’s Day giftsImageOver the course of my 13-year relationship, Valentine’s Day gifts from my partner have included diamond earrings, charging cables, a faux shearling earflap cap and nothing at all. Which is all to say that love (or at least the kind I’ve experienced) goes through many stages. As Wirecutter’s gifts editor, I informally polled a handful of couples on their Feb. 14 plans, and they agreed: A real Valentine’s Day gift — the best Valentine’s Day gift — isn’t the sexiest, the priciest or even the most unique. It’s the one that meets the moment of your love, wherever that may be today. And should you need some inspiration in the 11th hour, these 32 last-minute gifts feel anything but. — Hannah MorrillSUPER BOWL LXImageLevi’s Stadium in California, where the Super Bowl will be played.Credit...Max A. Cherney/ReutersNew England Patriots. Seattle Seahawks. If you’ve been following the playoffs, you probably know a lot about these teams by now. If you haven’t — if you’re one of the many people tuning into their first N.F.L. game of the season — here’s a quick guide.The Seahawks: They’re widely regarded as the most complete team in football. That starts with the defense, which allowed the fewest points in the league this season. Head coach Mike Macdonald is the primary defensive play-caller, which is unusual — so unusual, in fact, that he would be the first such coach to win a Super Bowl. The offense is really good, too. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the league in receiving yards, and he’s got the confidence to match. “Any limitation that is put on me is not true,” he said recently. “I honestly feel like I can do almost everything.”The Patriots: Drake Maye will be 23 years and 162 days old tomorrow — the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. His offense was great this year, thanks in part to his fellow 23-year-old Kayshon Boutte, a receiver who specializes in big plays (including the most cinematic catch of the playoffs). But Maye has cooled off a bit in the postseason, and the Patriots’ defense has carried the team. To win this weekend, the team will need Maye to turn back into Superman, The Athletic’s Chad Graff writes.Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on NBCNOW TIME TO PLAYImageMelissa Kirsch covers wellness and lifestyle and writes The Morning newsletter on Saturdays.SKIP