Petpalooza 2011

Last weekend we attended Petpalooza which has become our clubs May outing the past couple of years. Here is a link to last years post which talks all about it: http://gdbpuppysitter.blogspot.com/2010/05/petpalooza.html

This year since our club is down to Trinka (who happened to be in season) we had to borrow some dogs from other clubs! We took Calico who just turned a year. I was pretty busy talking to people and selling toys that I didn't get very many pictures this year. Plus the dogs were ALL over the place because there were HUNDREDS of dogs there. Nothing like extreme dog distractions! :) I also got to meet Simba who is a brother to the VERY popular chocolate lab Snickers! Below are some pictures of the day.

Calico:


Calico:


Vincent:


Career Change Lomita:


Career Change Jessa:


Simba:


Simba:

Petpalooza

For the past couple of years, we have had a booth at Petpalooza at a local park. Here is a description of what it is all about:
"An event for pet lovers and a special day for your four-legged family member or other furry friend. The event kicks off with a Dog Trot 3K/5K Fun Run. The event also includes an animal-related entertainment stage, Skyhoundz Disc Dog Championships, the nationally renown K9 Kings High Flying Dog Show, a petting zoo and pony rides, an agility area, pet adoptions, exams, vaccinations and other services, fly dog demos, the ‘Unleashed’ pet contests, a noon pet parade, over 140 vendor booths, give-a-ways and lots of activities to keep both humans and pets entertained."

It's a great way to get the word out about Guide Dogs for the Blind and hopefully get people interested in raising. There were A LOT of dogs there and I don't mean to be rude, but there were some really ugly dogs! As part of our booth, I offered to make a poster of pictures to help people understand a little bit more and the "process" of raising a puppy. I think it turned out pretty good and it really seemed to draw people in and got them asking questions. There was an 18 year old blind girl that stopped by with her mom. We had a blind lady at our booth who uses a Guide Dog (from GDB) that got to talk to her about using a dog. I almost started getting emotional over their conversation! She talked about how much independence a dog provides versus using a cane and how much more she has done since getting her dog. Hopefully we were able to plant a seed and who knows, maybe one day we will see her with a working guide!

I didn't take too many pictures as it was kind of boring but here are a few.

This is the poster I made:


Jessa:


Joanne:


Cranberry-Working Guide Dog in Harness:


Close-up of Cranberry's Harness:


Cranberry (L) & Joanne on (R):


Cranberry (L) & Joanne (R) :) Joanne loved Cranberry!