‘SNL’: Willem Dafoe Hosts the “Badminister Dog Show” from the Cujo Arena

People will go to the greatest lengths to take care of their dogs. This Saturday Night Live sketch highlights the weirdest dogs and the things owners do to appease them. A spin on the Westminster dog show, Willem Dafoe and Aidy Bryant host the Badminster Dog Show, sponsored by Thunder Shirt (as in the shirt you wrap your dog in to calm their anxiety during a thunderstorm). Live from “the Cujo arena,” referencing the classic Stephen King novel about a rabid dog, this dog show highlights those “canine freaks who prevent their owners from having company or intimacy.”

Dafoe and Bryant play the hilariously named Judas Chrysler and Miriam Jeans, respectively, the hosts of the show. Kate MicKinnon and Punkie Johnson are the Judges Bosworths, a couple that runs a dog ranch that walks the line between animal rescue and hoarding situations. Each dog satirizes a different pet dog archetype, such as Luna from “the shaky dog group” who is afraid of everything from plastic bags and pineapples to the Netflix start-up sound and, embarrassingly, “the sound of spoken Spanish.” Her owner (Melissa Villaseñor) notes that if Luna’s blanket isn’t fluffed correctly she will cry real tears, before joking “my life is hell and I miss my friends.”

Next we meet Pigeon from the “mean group,” who has been banned from every dog park in Maryland. Although Dafoe and Bryant describe as manipulative and a predator, the dog playing Pigeon couldn’t pass up the opportunity to lick McKinnon’s face, almost making her break from the cuteness. Pigeon’s owner (Andrew Dismukes) explains that when he got Pigeon he was quiet, but it turns out “he was just traumatized” and now he misses “that version of him.” We also meet Blueberry from the “non-walking group,” a play on dogs who insist on being carried everywhere.

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The last dog, from the “medical group,” is Gizmo, a small dog dressed in a tutu and pushed in a stroller by his owner (Chris Redd), poking fun at later-in-life dogs that owners push around in specialty strollers. The judges inquire about his “weird little dog penis,” which Redd explains is bigger than his frame and can get stuck outside his body for hours before manually being put back by a vet, and that he “hates saying that and [he] says it a lot.” All the dogs gather to find out that Gizmo has been awarded as the winner, who gets a little too excited as the sketch comes to an end.

This sketch hilariously makes fun of all dog owners who are a little too devoted to their pup, plus it is always a delight to see animals on SNL. You can watch the sketch below.

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