Scout's Paw Tracks

Monday, March 19, 2007

New law blamed for lower dog show attendance

Reprinted from the Courier Journal

New law blamed for lower dog show attendance
Donna Herzig said absentees were up

By Melissa Gagliardi

The Courier-Journal

When Stephanie Detamore was pregnant with her son Grant, several friends she met at dog shows drove for hours to attend her baby shower.  Detamore is active on the show-dog circuit, where she has made lasting friendships.  “It’s almost another family,” she said.  “Sometimes the best memories are not made in the show ring—they’re made ringside,” she said yesterday.

Detamore, of Carmel, Ind., was showing a friend’s keeshond during the final day of the four-day Kentuckiana Cluster All Breed Dog Show, which featured 3,521 dogs at the Kentucky Exposition Center.  She said she looks forward to the event each year, mainly as a chance to see the many friends she has made on the circuit over the years.  But this year some faces were missing because of Louisville’s new dangerous-dog ordinance and its many restrictions.

“The ordinance has really hurt this show,” Detamore said.  Owners exhibiting dogs didn’t have to worry about their animals being seized. A county attorney said shows on state property would be exempt.  But some dog owners still think Louisville is anti-dog.  The ordinance requires all unaltered dogs to be kept on 4-foot leashes. It gives animal-control officers additional investigative powers and increases licensing fees for dogs.

In addition, it limits the number of dogs people can keep outdoors on lots smaller than 2 acres and sets higher licensing fees for dogs and cats that have not been spayed or neutered.  Donna Herzig, vice president of the Louisville Kennel Club, said this year’s show was down about 600 entries a day, a total of at least 2,400 dogs.  Absentees also were way up, she said, adding that some people paid entry fees as a show of support to the Kennel Club but didn’t come to the show because of the ordinance.  Still, she was glad for the thousands who did come.

“It’s been a good show,” she said. “It’s always fun.” Detamore managed to look past the anger that many participants shared over the ordinance and focus on what the show is really all about—the dogs, and all the camaraderie that has developed around them.  For people with show dogs, it isn’t rare to spend tens of thousands of dollars a year traveling the country to compete every few weeks.

Grooming stations flanked all areas of the West Wing, where terriers were brushed and Pomeranians were fluffed. Metal combs were on hand to calm fly-away fur, and vendors hawked everything from puppy treats to wind chimes reflecting major breeds.

Lori Robson of Mason, Ohio, decided several years ago that she really wanted a pet, and now she shows keeshonden every other weekend. It’s a major commitment of time and money, but she loves doing it and so do the dogs.  As soon as she starts to load up the equipment for a show, her dogs get excited, she said. They know they’re special, that they’re show dogs, she said. Still, they get to have fun and romp and play in mud and sand like any other dog, regardless of their weekly grooming schedule.  “Mine are pets, first,” she said.

Jennifer Burrell of Fort Worth, Texas, was readying her basset hound, Oakes Twist and Shout, for the ring, tempting the pooch with a pouch of treats to keep her focused.  Because of the dog ordinance, she decided to stay in Jeffersonville, Ind., where she also chose to dine rather than spend money in Louisville.

But one area that wasn’t hit financially is an annual benefit for a national charity called “Take the Lead,” which provides help for people in the sport who suffer life-threatening illness.  “People are spending money—they’re spending it on the charities,” Burrell said.