On April 3, Debbi and I gathered with hundreds of fellow mutt-lovers for the annual Nuts For Mutts dog show. This is not your typical, upper-crusty, stick-in-the-mud sort of affair (although the field was a bit soggy after recent rains), but a fun fund-raiser for A New Leash on Life, a rescue shelter in Santa Clarita Valley, California. We had been invited to be guest judges to determine the Most Vocal canine. Seemed appropriate. Some of the other categories were: Best Kisser, Most Ear-resistable Ears, Best Dressed. See? This was definitely not your average dog show - more of a long-tongue-in-the-snout take on the Westminster Kennel Club.
The Winner's Circle
Our event wasn't scheduled until the afternoon, but Debbi and I arrived early, along with our Maria (another mutt nut) and my husband John, to check out the scene. We mingled a bit in the hospitality tent, talked to the folks from Animal Planet (who will televise the event on June 25), and met some of the other judges. The host for the day was Miss Debra Wilson - comedienne, singer, force of nature. Being television-challenged myself, I have never watched Mad TV, but apparently I am missing something - most specifically, Debra Wilson's right-on Whitney Houston impersonation. She did a little bit of that for us, starting the day off with a head-exploding version of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Judges Debra Wilson and Kim Basinger
The competition began and the celebrity panel of judges had a tough job. Many of the dogs who "competed" were rescue dogs, all of them mixed-breed, and there was a wonderful atmosphere of joy all day - just celebrating the human/canine relationship. The dogs were all adorable and remarkably well behaved. There was one hiccup in the "Best Dressed" category, when a three-legged dog dressed up as a pirate - eye patch and all - was not announced a winner, despite getting full marks from all judges. Judge Eric Robertscalled this out, and a recount was done. I don't know the outcome, because Debbi and I were in the middle of taping a Public Service Announcement for rescue centers. We'll all have to watch in June to find out!
Eric Roberts
Our friend Alexandra Bennett from Animal Planet made sure we met the founders of A New Leash on Life, Bobby & Kelly Dorafshar. Despite the pressures of overseeing a considerably large event, this couple was all smiles and appreciation. The shelter they founded in 1997 has grown into a valuable center for education and has rescued and placed thousands of companion animals to new homes. The Nuts For Mutts Dog Show raises much needed funds to help run the shelter and the various programs it sponsors. I don't think I've meet friendlier, more soul-satisfied people in a long time. They're doing good work and it's working.
When it was time for the Most Vocal competition, Debbi and I grabbed mics and headed out into the ring with Debra. The dogs were introduced one by one and their owners did whatever it is they do at home to get the dogs to "sing" - they called out names in high pitched voices, sang in foreign languages (oddly enough, the most popular canine sing-along is to "Happy Birthday"), or whatever it took.
Almost all of the dogs joined in, howling and yipping happily into our mics for the audience and judges. There was one exception: a beautiful dog named Kasey. She wasn't responding to her owners' vocalizing and didn't seem too happy to be in the center of attention with lots of strangers around. She actually gave a warning snarl. I pulled back my microphone, thinking that it was making her nervous. The owner, Christine, lay behind the dog and sang in her ear again. Before we knew it, the dog turned and snapped again, unfortunately catching Christine in the face. Blood poured onto the grass and we all froze for a long second, shocked. We called for First Aid and Annmarie Lucas (from the TV show "Animal Precinct") ran out to hold the dog while Christine was helped to the First Aid tent.
It all happened so fast (as these things do); we were unsure for a moment whether or not to carry on. Kasey seemed as surprised as everyone else, watching her owner leave the ring without her. Debra Wilson, thinking quickly, took the opportunity to address the children in the crowd who might have been upset by the dog's actions. She said that the dog had been frightened, and that her "mommy" loved her and would not have the dog put to sleep. This seemed to relieve some of the tension. We were able to continue with the competition, although I was so shaken up that I have to admit I cannot remember who actually won.
"Best Dressed" wannabees...
As soon as we left the ring, we found Alexandra, who told us that the First Aid people were still looking after Christine. Before long, Christine reappeared in the hospitality tent. She was still in a state of shock - the bleeding had been stopped, but it was obvious that she was going to need some stitches. She assured us all that it was an accident - that Kasey would never mean to hurt her. I hugged Christine, feeling so badly for her. "You've done that trick with Kasey so many times at home, right?"
"Oh, hundreds. Hundreds of times," she replied, tearing up. "But usually I'm in front of her, not behind her like today, and I think she was feeling threatened." In the end, Christine received 15 stitches to her face. In an email after the Dog Show, she assured Alexandra that she had been well taken care of, thanked her for her compassion, and reiterated how she believed Kasey had only meant to give a warning and had caught her by accident. She and Kasey had curled up together that night to sleep.
Debbi and I had to leave soon after our event was over, and Alexandra handed us a generous Animal Planet gift bag on our way out. Thanks to some of the canine goodies in the bag, my own mutts were very glad to see me when I got home.
For more information on rescue animals, check out A New Leash On Life's website, and Nuts For Mutts.com |
