Who are all these people?
Late April 2001I promised myself when I got Oak that I would do my best to try and show him, whether in conformation, obedience, or coursing. I think coursing is the only place he has a real talent at the moment, but we're working on the other two. In the meantime, I have been working on getting him over his shyness around people. Last Saturday we tried a local fun show for all types of pets.
We arrived at about 10:30 and lots of people were already in the park. As soon as we crossed the street and stepped into the park, children came running from the playground. I answered all the questions about how he got to be so big and let them pat Oak. He was very brave and even kissed a few of the shorter cheeks. I was very proud of him. I told the children that Oak was still a baby and was a little shy. They were amazed that a puppy could be so big.
We went to registration and asked for directions to the facilities and then familiarized ourselves with the park. Water and "dog walk" on one side of an amphitheater and everything else on the other side. We had to sit down for a few minutes to regroup and decide what to do. Some of the younger volunteers came over to meet Oak and told us that there would be a "Biggest Pet" contest a little later and that we should enter. They also told me there was another IW in the park. I was very surprised, I didn't know there were any within 100 miles of us.
We went to registration, made our donation, and received our entry form for the contest. As we were walking away, a gentleman with an obvious Scottish accent approached us and introduced himself as the other IW owner. He asked us to come meet his wife and Bridie. I was very happy to meet these very nice people who told me about all the IW opportunities in the area. As we walked on into the park Oak slowed a bit, looking around. People and dogs were everywhere. He stopped and sat down and looked up at me, then looked around again. I told him that he was a very brave dog and good, good boy. He got up and we resumed our walk into the crowd.
Oak is not huge to me and I forget just how big he appears to other people. We were constantly surrounded by people and I answered questions until I was hoarse. We made it to our contest with only a rottweiler and Bridie as competition - we won! We stayed long enough to watch the "Smallest Pet" - a hermit crab - walk off with a trophy.
We started again making the rounds looking for good stuff to buy. We found some very interesting (and evidently tasty) Canine Cookies, lots of T-shirts, and trinkets of all shapes and sizes. We met the Greyhound Rescue Society of Texas folks, the Animal Control officers, several veterinarians, and more volunteers for the Humane Society. There were also some people from the pet-assisted therapy group - Pads N' Paws, and the Tyler Obedience Training Club.
We finally had to admit that we were tired and told everyone goodbye. Oak was worn out and slept all the way home and then slept the rest of the night. We had great fun and met lots of interesting people. I don't think Oak will be quite as shy in the future.
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