Dogtona

Jake, me, and Gracie

Every March the Hendricks County shelters have a dog show, appropriately called Dogtona. This is a large open indoor area at the fairgrounds, with vendors set up along the walls. There are games, treats, and contests. I don't enter any of the contests with these two. Frick and Frack would probably be more of a distraction than anything else.

But this year there was a local photographer set up for pet pics. It was only $5, and she had a newer digital camera that sends the photo to a color printer, and you received the print immediately. This turned out cute, didn't it? Let us briefly discuss what I had to go through to get to this point.

First of all, I am on my knees on the ground. I had to wrap my body around Jake's to keep him in one spot. There are places to mark, people to bark at. He was super excited, and we had been there for an hour at this point. Gracie, in her infinite wisdom, would not look at the camera. THIS shot is number 6. The photographer, a woman my age, had the patience of a saint. You would have to, to do this at a gathering of barking dogs.

To get the dogs to look forward, not to the side or at the other dogs, she finally had a cohort stand behind her and make cat sounds. At least I think they were sounds a mad cat might make, not sure. Whatever it was, it worked and the brats looked at the camera. I was gazing into the distance wondering how the hell I would get up.

One of the games is an assortment of old shoes with treats stuck in them. Jake didn't really bother with that, but it's one of Gracie's favorite games. She dives right into it, sticking her nose into every shoe, because she KNOWS there is food somewhere. Jake did walk up the down the agility ramp, perfectly. Gracie sat down and looked at me. You want me to walk up a narrow platform, mom? Are you nuts? Neither dog would go into the enclosed chute, no matter what the guy on the other end was waving around.

A lot of butts were sniffed, and a good time was had by all. To top off the day, we went to the dog park where they ran with Max and Ben.

And they still bugged me to death last night. Go figure.
Linda