They arrived by car and by bus and by train and even on their own four legs. Some strode onto the sidewalk and some skittered across the carpet. A few, almost certainly, let it be known that they expected to be carried by a human. All are here for this week’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. All of them — the Affenpinschers and the Borzois, the Xoloitzcuintlins and the Yorkshire terriers — will hope to rise through breed and group judging on Monday and Tuesday at Pier 94 to a place on the floor on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden where the best-in-show winner will be crowned. But before that big moment, there will be thousands of small ones. New York Times photographers have fanned out to catch as many as possible.

[Your favorite dog breed probably didn’t win Westminster. Here’s why.]