• Mood: tired
• Music: Hercule Poirot on telly

Dog show update

So, there I was in Exeter surrounded by people with special dog crates on wheels with Crufts stickers on. It felt a bit odd, to be honest - all those dangly dog-testicles and teats and people talking about the next dog they were going to buy.  I'm not used to dog people that don't neuter or spay, and it was all terribly serious - there were no 'fun' classes like Waggiest tail, no flyball or obedience or anything like that, just a huge beauty pageant - well OK'conformation' pageant...   The whippets were one thing  - whippets practically never come into rescue, so I can't complain too much about those - but the Staffies...  (Staffies are about the most over-produced dog there is in the UK apart from greyhounds). Az was most certainly the only dog of mixed origins in the place. 

I had to take Az and Mollydog, as Mark had decided to go out that day, but I think now it might have been better for Az at least to be left alone for the day.  He definitely found it very stressful (dogs, people, cars, etc) even though I made up a bed for him under my table thing sheltered by the tablecloth: it was about 3 hours before he calmed down enough to sit down and stop shaking, and I can tell he's still stressed today.   I felt bad about taking him: really hadn't realised he'd find it so worrying, though I am pleased that he did trust me enough to lie down and have a nap in the end.

I did chainmailmaiden 's treasure hunt idea, and that went down really well and earned almost £50, which was good going.  It was really quite popular, so I'm thinking we might do it next week at the Wag & Bone show too.  I also sold about 15 cards and got some donations - £70 in the end.  Not much for a long day, (and considering the monetary value of the dogs present!)  but I was manning  the only rescue stand there and talked to a lot of people, so I felt I'd done the education thing quite well.  I got a few decent home enquiries too.   I wished I'd had some stickers as helflaed suggested: they would have come in handy several times, but I've made sure we've got some for next week.

A brat came and talked to me at some length about her parents deerhound showing and how they were buying her a Pharoah hound from a very good breeder (well, she talked, I didn't actually tell her to bog off) .  I am afraid that when she changed her mind about her decision to spend 50p on the OC treasure hunt (after I had asked 'are you sure' as it was her last 50p)  and asked if she could have it back to buy a drink, I said NO! very firmly.  If her parents are buying her 500 quidsworth of Pharoah hound, they can spare 50p towards an old dog's vet bills. Also she won a prize (a ball) and had already been bouncing it for 5 minutes by that point! She must have been at least 10, and I had spelled out the 'raising money for dogs in need' thing quite clearly by then so I thought that was a bit off.

Brat Girl was made up for by a very polite young lad who kept coming over to buy another square every so often, and kept failing to win anything.  Even Az liked him, which is amazing as Az is scared of strange blokes and of children!  In the end I fiddled the draw so he won something, just as a reward for not being Brat Girl.