January 25, 2008 was the second annual Mutt Show in Casa Grande, so we decided to go check it out. Joe and Elsie were in town for a couple of weeks, and they joined us. We thought that having a couple of dogs themselves they might enjoy the event and they did. Wild and crazy, out-of-control dogs ruled the morning. The categories included Best Dressed, Curliest Tail, Shortest Tail, Most Handsome/Beautiful, Biggest/Smallest, Best Dancer, Longest Ears, Fluffiest, etc. Whatta hoot! Here are a couple of contestants.
This little Doxie was a sweetheart and Bruce's favorite. This little guy almost died at birth, but his owner saved his life.
Then he was in a car accident and lost his tail as a result, so he was going in the Shortest Tail class as well as Most Handsome.Where's Cesar Milan when we need him? This one was totally out of control.
During a break in the competition, an exhibition was put on by the Casa Grande Police Department of their K-9 patrol. The dogs of preference anymore are the Belgian Malinois. The cost of the dogs range from $5,000 to $10,000 and commands are given by their handlers in German. The explanation for this is, it's less confusing for the dogs. If they hear "get down on the ground" for instance when given to a bad guy, the dog would hear down and lay down, and that may not be the reaction they want from the dog.
This dog's name is Clint, and at the opposite end of the enclosure was a cop dressed in combat gear for what was about to happen. As with any obedience-trained dog, you can see the one in the background laying passively next to his handler seemingly oblivious. Just let someone make a move toward her! HA!
There were two dogs in this exhibition. Clint weighed in at about 65 pounds, and the other one weighed in at 85 pounds. When the larger of the two dogs ran the attack, he knocked this poor person over. 85 pounds at a full run produces one helluva hit! One of the handlers had to help him up with all this gear on. Clint is not only trained in attack and personal protection, but he finds objects in an area such as guns or whatever and is a narcotics dog. It was impressive to watch these animals up close and personal and know that they're pussy cats at home with the kids.
Everyone had a great time. Whatta great idea of a way for the city to bring people together. There were some purebreds there, but most were Heinz 57s happily accompanying their owners and families for a morning of fun. The pet run was full of dogs running and playing while competitors were being primped and pampered. The city was also putting on a vaccination clinic at the same location at the same time. There were dogs everywhere! As we walked out toward the car, two Basset hounds were in line to get a shot. They had not been in the Longest Ears competition but sure should have been.
