Affenpinscher wins best in show at Westminster dog show

Handler Ernesto Lara holds up Banana Joe, an Affenpinscher, who won the Best in Show at the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York, February 12, 2013.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 5-year-old affenpinscher named Banana Joe won best in show at the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York on Tuesday.

Judge Michael Dougherty also chose a 20-month-old Old English sheepdog named Swagger - the crowd favorite - as the reserve best in show, or runner-up.

The affenpinscher is a little black dog whose French name means "mustached little devil," according to the Westminster Kennel Club.

Banana Joe, who won best in group among toy dogs on Monday, lives with his handler Ernesto Lara in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and will retire as a champion to the Netherlands, where he was born, Lara said.

"He's a beautiful specimen of his breed," Lara said after the group win on Monday.

The runner-up Old English drew the loudest cheers from the crowd.

Swagger had only three previous shows to his name and emerged as a surprise contender. A 90-pound (40-kg) cloud of white and gray fur, Swagger won best in group for herding dogs on Monday. (Editing by Daniel Trotta and Stacey Joyce)