Question

I have a SQL Server 2008 database with records like the following

001 CAT 1 2 3 
002 DOG 3 3 1
003 DOG 2 1 1
004 DOG 2 1 3
005 CAT 1 3 4

I want to take 1 row for each unique value in column 2 (cat and dog)

so this would get me (one possible answer):

001 CAT 1 2 3
002 DOG 3 3 1

Column 1 is the PK and is a string.
Column 2 is a string

Columns 3-5 are just there to indicate there are other variable fields which I need in the final result.

Answer 1

SELECT t1.* 
FROM YourTable t1
    JOIN 
    (SELECT MIN(Col1) AS FirstId 
     FROM YourTable GROUP BY Col2) x ON t1.Col1 = x.FirstId