A View of the National Dog Show
This was our first trip to the National Dog Show, although we have watched dog shows on TV for years. Ripley, our 3-year-old PON, had been invited to man (or dog?) the Meet the Breed booth on Saturday, plus we were asked to present a trick show, since we have been doing trick training for quite a while.
No sooner had we driven into the hotel parking lot than we started having verified PON sightings! More PONs inside the hotel! Adults and puppies of all color combinations. We live outside of Richmond, VA, and PON sightings are as rare as leprechaun sightings around here. We met some very nice PON owners also, all eager to talk about their furry pups.
The next day was Saturday, the big day at the show for PONs. We found our way into the exhibit halls - two of them were connected together - which were as large as they were overwhelming. Dogs and show rings and vendors and benches were everywhere. At that time, it did not look like it does on TV, with one nice ring surrounded by bleachers. Everything was all mixed in together in a collage of partially organized chaos. We hunted around and found the PON section.
Some of the APONC members built a beautiful display of a Polish cottage and front yard (which won the best booth prize!). This was the Meet the Breed booth, and it was adjacent to the benching area for some of the PONS. We positioned ourselves and Ripley in front, and almost immediately people stopped by with all of the usual PON questions. Many were looking for what dog to get, and quite a few were impressed by all of the PONtributes we all take for granted. "And they don't shed!"
By midday, Rip was getting tired from meeting so many people (meeting strangers is not his strong point, but he was doing well), so we took him out for a nap in the car. As luck would have it, that was when Mary Carillo and the NBC cameras came by to tape the PONs on their 10th anniversary of being included in the show, and so we missed out on that. Several of the PONs and their owners there, and they were seen in the broadcast on Thanksgiving Day.
We were able to see parts of the PON competition in a ring in the next room, but mostly we stayed in the booth. Even there we saw a parade of all kinds of dogs walking by. Seeing the unusual ones on TV is one thing, but seeing them in person is very different. There were truly some majestic and beautiful dogs there. None to compare with PONs, of course.
That afternoon there was a PON parade in the show ring. Ripley was invited to attend, and we had the opportunity to run around in the ring with the show dogs and their proud owners. We had never seen so many PONs in one place. That was quite a thrill. All too soon it was time to pack everything up and say farewell to the many nice people we had met and to their PONs. For us, it was a couple of days of non-stop activities. We got only the slightest taste, however, of what it is like for the show people and their PONs, who do this several times a year. There's a lot to be said for watching it on TV, but on the other hand it is definitely worth seeing in person, as TV only begins to capture the scope of what really happens. It was certainly worth the experience!
Martin and Gloria Ford, and Ripley