Dogs, and dog owners...

...On a skit during one of his shows, Jerry Seinfeld hit it right on the head when he described aliens looking at people walking their dogs, and said, by the look of things, they would think the dog was the superior being. If you doubt this, go to a dog show, and watch not only the show itself but what is involved in getting a dog ready to show. These dogs have it made.

I recently went to a show in Kutztown. Lori was showing both Maybelline and Fannie, and there was a good chance one of them would win something. Well, after leaving at 5am and getting there at around 7, I of course was ready for a nap. The only creatures though who could catch some z's on this particular morning were the dogs. They slept while we "set up camp!" The canopy, the chairs, the grooming table, etc. Amazing!

The thing that most surprised me however was that, even though we had a lot of 'stuff', we didn't have anything compared to what some of the other people had. Winnebagos that I could live in, fences, generators, grills, etc. If you could think of it, it was most likely there!

We won't get into the intricate grooming set ups for some of these pooches (They could make high-priced hair salon owners green with envy!). Let's leave it by saying that there are some people who spent so much time, and probably so much money, grooming their precious canine wanna-be champions that I'm sure they had little time for anything else! Mind-boggling, to say the least!

I saw dogs in carts being pulled around the parking lot (What the...?), dogs being carried (Again, what the...?), dogs being driven around in golf carts while other people walked behind them. Poopers-scoopers aplenty. A lot of dogs had 'professional groomers' and 'professional handlers' in their quest for a blue ribbon! Big money in some of these pampered pooches, for sure! Like I say, you name it, and it was there!

For me, it was a learning experience if nothing else. I've seen the shows on tv, but I never knew what they were about. Never knew how much money went into a 'show dog'. Never understood how politics could be so prevalent in what should be harmless competition (but it is there in abundance...you want the ribbon?...play the game!). Mostly, I never understood how seriously some of these people took this, and how much money they were willing to spend to get their dog's picture on the winner's platform! This is serious competition!