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Vito the pug is living his best life after beating out a field of nearly 2,000 dogs on Thanksgiving and securing the prestigious Best in Show award − a first for his breed in over two decades of the National Dog Show.

The small but sturdy 2-and-a-half-year-old pup is certainly living up to his moniker — Vito is derived from the Latin word for vita, which means “life” or “victory” — and while he may have looked a bit puzzled as the crowd cheered his win during the NBC event on Thursday, he was probably just playing it cool.

Following the win, which was taped on Nov. 16 and 17 and aired after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, NBC on-site reporter Mary Carillo asked Vito’s handler Michael Scott if he thought the pug was aware of his victory.

Scott’s reply? “He is a little smug. I do think he knows.”

But what really made Vito stand out?

“He has a beautiful head and expression,” Scott said, adding that Vito is a compact dog who has “wonderful movement,” which appeals to “a lot of people whether they know the breed specifics or not.”

While still young, Vito, who is owned by Carolyn Koch of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the No. 1 pug in all show systems and the No. 2 toy dog in the U.S., according to NBC. He also snatched the top spot in best of his breed at this year’s Westminster Dog Show in New York City and claimed best of breed at the American Kennel Club National Show in 2023.

Scott, of Chesapeake City, Maryland, previously won the National Dog Show in 2008 as handler for Holly, a pointer. Last year, he won reserve best in show (runner-up) with New Jersey dog Pumpkin, a Dalmation from Milltown in Middlesex County.

Vito may have notched the Best in Show accolade but there were plenty of superstars inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. With the newest addition of the Lancashire heeler, which debuted on the American Kennel Club’s official list earlier this year, there were 205 breeds sorted into seven groups: sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding.

National Dog Show 2024 winners

Verde the Welsh terrier took second place, also known as Reserve Best in Show. The medium-size, wiry-coated canine is a breed “used by Welsh farmers to rid their land of foxes, badgers and rodents of all kinds,” co-host John O’Hurley said during the two-hour telecast. The pup has won 21 best in shows.

Here are the winner from the seven groups:

• Toy: Vito the pug from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Terrier: Verde the Welsh terrier from Rialto, California
• Sporting: Houston the Clumber spaniel from Keyport, New Jersey
• Working: Monty the giant schnauzer from Chaplin, Connecticut
• Hound: The Zit, an Ibizan hound from Spring Hill, Florida
• Herding: Rupert the Berger Picard from Shing Springs, California
• Non-sporting: JJ the Lhasa apso from Sabot, Virginia

Judges evaluate the canines based on “how closely each dog compares with the judge’s mental image of the perfect dog as described in the breed’s official standard,” based on qualities such as the dog’s overall appearance, temperament and structure.

In 2023, Stache, a Sealyham terrier from Pennsylvania, was crowned Best in Show.

Missed the National Dog Show? Here’s how to rewatch

Too busy whipping up those mashed potatoes or traveling to the in-laws to catch the National Dog Show? No worries. The show is available to watch on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, with a subscription.

For those that can’t get enough canine content, full episodes of the National Dog Show can be watched dating back to 2013. Highlights from the competition, including a “Best Moments of the Show” compilation, can be found on the NBC YouTube channel.

The is now available to watch on Hulu with a subscription and will re-air at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30 on CNBC and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1 on NBC 4 New York.

Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that Democrat Derek Tran flipped a California House seat held by GOP Rep. Michelle Steel.

Why does this matter to New Jersey voters? Well, with another California Democrat leading in a Republican-held district that has yet to be called, Republicans are looking at a House majority in January that could end up being a whopping total of two votes.

Coincidentally, over here on the best coast, two is the number of New Jersey House Democrats who have recently decided to seek their party’s nomination for governor next year.

In such a closely divided House, will the gubernatorial ambitions of Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill affect key legislation because they’re up here campaigning instead of down in D.C. voting?

Both campaigns said they can indeed seek the governorship and tend to their House duties at the same time.

Sherrill campaign spokesman Sean Higgins noted the Center for Effective Lawmaking ranked her as the most effective House member from New Jersey during the last House session “because of her commitment to delivering for the people she serves.” Gottheimer was ranked No. 4 for New Jersey’s 12-member House delegation.

“Mikie will stay in close coordination with House Democratic leadership on the vote schedule and will always fight to protect the interests of New Jersey families,” Higgins said.

As for Gottheimer, Zach Florman, his communications director, said, “As ever, the Congressman will be at every critical vote and is already working closely with leadership to ensure that.”

Both Sherrill and Gottheimer have missed at least one vote since they launched their gubernatorial bids. On the evening of Nov. 18 — that’s the day Sherrill announced her campaign for governor — the House voted in favor of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, which is intended to bridge gaps in the services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Sherrill and Gottheimer were the only two members of New Jersey’s House delegation who did not vote on it. Three days later, Gottheimer was the only New Jersey House member to miss two votes, including one on a bill that would give the Trump administration more power to punish nonprofits it doesn’t like (Sherrill voted no). Two of those bills passed with an overwhelming majority and the nonprofit bill passed with 35 votes, so their presence in D.C. for those votes would not have changed anything.

I asked Steve Fulop about this. He’s the mayor of Jersey City and one of the six Democrats hoping to succeed a term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy (the others are Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, teachers union chief Sean Spiller, and former state Sen. Steve Sweeney).

Of all of Sherrill’s and Gottheimer’s primary opponents, Fulop has been the most critical of them, chiding them for seeking reelection to the House this month while also readying their campaigns for governor. He has lobbed enough bombs in their direction on social media that a Sherrill supporter said Fulop is “thirsting for engagement.”

Fulop told me he thinks Sherrill’s and Gottheimer’s campaigns put Democrats at risk of letting President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda eke through the House.

“In a time of Trump where the House of Representatives will be the front line of defense every resident in NJ should be offended that they were lied to during the congressional campaign by Mikie and Josh. It’s unheard of to tell people you want a job and then to bail on it before even being sworn in and it speaks to their own ego about having a title above the goal of service,” Fulop said in an email.

Spiller also cited Trump when asked to comment.

“As Democrats we all need to be fully focused on defending against a Trump agenda. As an educator, and leader in New Jersey, I have the experience and am prepared to stand up to his agenda and for New Jersey values,” he said in a statement from his campaign.

To be fair, Gottheimer and Sherrill have great attendance records. GovTrack says both miss few votes: Gottheimer was absent for 1.3% of votes in his first term, and since then that percentage hasn’t risen above 1%, while Sherrill missed 0.6% of votes in her first term and 3% in her second (numbers for their current terms are not available).

House members missing votes because they’re off campaigning for another job is a tale as old as time. Earlier this year, Rep. Andy Kim was criticized by then-opponent first lady Tammy Murphy for missing a vote on a bill to ban TikTok. But at that time, in March, the GOP had a six-vote majority. If it ends up being just two starting in January, Democrats will need every body they have in D.C. What happens if Sherrill has a big-dollar fundraiser in Montclair or Gottheimer has a meet-and-greet with voters in Asbury Park and the House decides at the last minute to vote on a major bill? What gets the priority, the job they have now or they job they want in January 2026? We’ll find out very soon.

MORRISVILLE, Pa. – Authorities in Bucks County responded to a serious crash on the Calhoun Street bridge from Trenton, New Jersey to Morrisville, Pennsylvania Thursday night. 

The crash happened around 8 p.m. 

Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29’s Steve Keeley a total of nine patients were taken to area hospitals.

Sources also say that police in New Jersey had been pursuing a stolen vehicle from New Jersey into Pennsylvania when the crash occurred. 

There is no word on the condition of any of the injured at this time. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.