It’s certainly no secret that we love dogs. It occurred to me this weekend, though, that the reason we’re so very addicted to doing “stuff” with our dogs is because of the wonderful people we’ve come to know.
Last Sunday was the annual obedience and rally trial for our dog club. Hope is the current president, and it was the 75th annual trial, so it was a big deal (as obedience trials go) and a source of concern, worry, nerves, etc. for a few weeks.
It was a very long day – we started setting up for the trial at 6 a.m. for a 9 a.m. start. It seemed to go like clockwork, but we didn’t leave the trial site until about 6:30 p.m. A long day for all of us and our dogs.
I’m not complaining, though. During the course of the day I had the opportunity to catch up with a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in a while, cheer on friends, acquaintances, and familiar faces, share some hugs of triumph, and chat with some new acquaintances.
While I’m sure there are a few “bad apples” in the dog-people community – I don’t know any of them and there sure weren’t any around this weekend. If you’re ever feeling like you don’t have a supportive community around you – sign up for a class with a dog club in your area. You already have a lot in common – you love your dogs and love doing stuff with them. I’ll wager you’d find many kind and kindred folk.
I’m going to let Fran report her trial results tomorrow. Just as a hint – she left the ring smiling!
