A Well Kept Man

Alli and I spent Sunday afternoon at Animalia 2008 (really just a dog show but they also had cats, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and alpacas). I was somewhat hesitant to go due to the anticipated guilt I would feel about not having my dog around. Rather than bring her along (and cause what would most likely result in an airplane cargo-hold panic/heart attack), we begged my family to watch her for a year in exchange for proper treatment of said family in their Golden Years. (Just kidding Dad, I owe you big time!!!!!)

When we arrived at the exposition (it kind of felt like one of those spa sales they have at the state fairgrounds where everything must be sold at factory direct prices) we were greeted to a large pool with a boat that had overturned. I reasoned that this was some sort of ploy to buy a boat that had self-righting capabilities. Upon closer inspection we found a Newfoundland dog jumping into the water and swimming over to "rescue" the helpless victim of shoddy boating skills. I grew up next door to a couple of these dogs and let's just say if a baseball accidentally went over the fence, that's where it stayed (these dogs are HUGE!!). The dog proceeded to grab the victim and pulled him (and the other person who was in serious need of boating instruction) to safety...very cool!

This repeated for about fifteen more minutes with various rescue scenarios, inevitably ending with a heroic rescue by a Newfoundland dog (or in one case, a Golden Retriever that seemed confused when instead of a downed bird or mallard, he found a 130 pound lady. This was actually humorous as then a Newfoundland was sent in to rescue the lady while the Golden just swam back to shore).

We quickly noticed that there were dogs everywhere...of every shape and size. We saw probably the smallest of dog breeds (chihuahuas being pushed in a stroller) to the largest (Mastiffs, and Irish Wolfhounds). Inside the hall were various rings where the breeds were being judged. It was somewhat surreal to see as how often do you walk down the street and see twenty St. Bernard's walking in a row, or beagles for that matter (definitely cool). Unfortunately, the place smelled like a fire hydrant, as the dogs seemed to find every post, corner, and carpet to introduce themselves to later passing dogs. I really felt sorry for the poor schmucks whose job it was to walk around the place with a mop and bucket of lemon scented water to quickly eliminate the eliminations.

As luck would have it we missed the Irish Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier judging (apparently occurring during the dramatic water rescue), so we didn't get to see Hildi's European kin in action. We did however manage to see a couple meandering around after the show. Alli's favorite part was watching the dog obstacle course (you know, the one's where they chase their owners around various jumps, teeter-totters, tunnels, slalom poles etc.). I enjoyed watching the owners. It never ceases to amaze me what some people choose to do with their time. Some of the owners were very athletic, and obviously well versed in the art of dog whispering...others not so much (I'm being polite here, I was going to write about the physical aspects of the owners, but I don't want to embarrass the dogs any more than I already have).

This event was a pleasant surprise, and we definitely decided owning and loving a dog is about the best thing anyone can do (cats are lame, fish don't do tricks, babies become teenagers). We can't wait to see our dog at Christmas-time...in the meantime, I'll be hanging out like the St. Bernard below.