A 15in beagle named Miss P won the top honour at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on 17 February, besting more than 2,700 competitors.

Miss P, a bouncy four-year-old, was awarded the Best In Show prize at the 139th Westminster show, the second-longest continuously running sporting event in the United States after the Kentucky Derby.

The crowning of the grand champion of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show brought together the world's top dogs, from shaggy to sleek, including a finalist owned by the infamous heiress Patty Hearst.

The show featured 192 breeds and varieties and culminated with the selection of the Best in Show winner.

More than 2,700 dogs from 15 countries and all US states except North Dakota and Idaho are competing in this year's prestigious two-day event at New York's Piers 92 and 94 and Madison Square Garden.

Judges selected the best of each breed and group, divided into seven categories - hound, toy, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working and terrier.

On Monday, the first night of events, Miss P won in the hound group; a dark and puffy standard poodle named Flame won in the non-sporting group; Swagger, a friendly 110lb old English sheepdog, won in the herding group; and a silky-haired shih tzu named Rocket won in the toy group.

Rocket, who wore a sparkling ponytail, is co-owned by Patricia Hearst Shaw, the 60-year-old publishing heiress famous for being kidnapped by and then apparently joining the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s.

Miss P, Swagger and a Portuguese water dog called Matisse are considered this year's show favourites. Matisse will compete for best in the working group on Tuesday.

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