National Dog Day – Sunday, August 26, 2007
Whether deep in the canyons or right on the beaches of Malibu, that part of Southern California has great beauty. The Calamigos Ranch, located in the heart of the Malibu hills, proved to be an ideal setting for a day devoted to dog fun but, more importantly, dog adoption. Jon Provost was the guest star of the day, and his duties included the valiant tasks of judging a couple of contests geared to attending dogs and their human companions. Jon had to make his selection for "best dressed" and "most beautiful" from a bevy of wonderful dogs, obviously cherished by their owners.
The event organizers had placed Bob and Laddie's booth right next to Jon's booth in an open area situated between the fun events/live music/pet adoption field and the pavilion building where attendees first entered and could detour into a room where dog organizations and vendors had set up their displays.
We had a sprinkling of all kinds of weather – sun, clouds and humidity, even a surprise shower. While the event was set up to meet the needs of all the people and dogs who came, unfortunately the numbers hoped for didn't materialize. To the best of our knowledge, only a few dogs were adopted by the end of the day. But at least those lucky few will hopefully have found wonderful homes and loving families.
Of course, Laddie was appreciated by all the visitors at the Weatherwax booth, and his pal of the day was Jon and Laurie Provost's full-of-character Beagle, Barney. Much appreciated were friends who came expressly to meet Laddie, including Dorann Porch and her lovely rough collie girl, Honey; Loretta Allen and her handsome smooth boy, Danny; Laurie Ackerman and her daughter Carly who was volunteering at the Canine Companions for Independence booth; and Mindy Fenton with her human family (husband Dennis Samuels and daughter Kelly) plus their Newfoundland, Daisy.
Bob and Laddie gave an exclusive interview to a Japanese television/film crew. One of the crew acted as the interpreter. After the interview, a couple of the crew members did their best to say something in English about how they had grown up watching the Lassie show. Yumi, the interpreter, emphasized how beloved collies are in Japan.
One note of irony that just shows how some people continue to misrepresent the best intentions of breeders...We can all agree that there is a time and place for everything. But at an event bringing attention to the numbers of dogs who are homeless and attempting to place these dogs in well-matched homes, why would one couple seemingly disregard the purpose of the event and choose this venue to breed their Chihuahuas? Although it was toward the end of the day, this couple set their little canine duo to the task and then photographed the tie over and over again on their cell phone. Were they contacting puppy buyers to prove the breeding had taken place? No officials from the organizers stopped what was going on, most likely because they were occupied with the dogs up for adoption. On that surreal note, Bob and Laddie, Jon, Laurie and Barney, and the rest of their group departed.
Welcome to our news archive dated September, 2007.
Bob and Laddie take part in the National Dog Day celebration!
This page was last updated: October 14, 2007
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