Westminster Adds Coton de Tulear and Wirehaired Vizsla to 2015 Dog Show

Barbra Streisand is probably delighted with this news. (No, not that her new album, “Partners,” is No. 1, although that’s kind of exciting.) Her constant companion Samantha — who posed with Babs in her very first Instagram photo — is a Coton de Tulear, one of two breeds that will make their debut at the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

“Wild tales of 16th-century pirates and shipwrecks surround the origins of the Coton de Tulear,” says the Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) in a news announcement.

The breed, which will compete in the Non-Sporting Group, was developed in Madagascar. It got its name from the fluffy, cotton-like texture of its white coat. “Intelligent, quirky and clown like, Cotons became a favorite of the island’s aristocracy, who proclaimed them the ‘Royal Dog of Madagascar,'” according to the WKC.

The other breed appearing for the first time in next year’s show is the Wirehaired Vizsla, which will be competing in the Sporting Group.

“Developed by hunters and falconers in Hungary, the Wirehaired Vizsla is a lean, athletic hunting dog whose most distinguishing features are its weather-resistant, dense wire coat with beard, eyebrows and brushes on the legs,” says the WKC.

The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will be held Feb. 16 and 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

If you’re interested in adopting a Coton de Tulear or Wirehaired Vizsla, here are a couple of rescue organizations you can check out:

• American Coton Club
• Wirehaired Vizsla Club of America

If you’re interested in adding any purebred dog to your family, I urge you to adopt, not shop. Plenty of rescue organizations and shelters across the country probably have just the dog you’re looking for.

Photo credits: Uschi Goess (Coton de Tulear); Noveczki Katalin (Wirehaired Vizsla)