I due diavolini, 2 pet dogs

6 Jun 11: Teddi & me at the Pet Fair at Aviano AB: Saturday Ted & I went to the pet fair at the base. We were there from 10:15 to noon. The weather was hotter & sunnier than what I had expected. Bill drove us there but stayed in the car. The day before Bill had bathed both girls. Wanting Ted to look her best, I groomed her & brushed her teeth. I got all of our stuff ready that night.

When we arrived at the large lawn to the right of the commissary, there were already plenty of people there with their pets, all dogs. Teddi immediately started sniffing the ground, not being used to being around such a crowd. The “Strut your Mutt” contest was for smallest dog, tallest, most patriotic, best dressed, best talented, & look alike. Prizes were given out for the winners such as a framed certificate & a gift card to the commissary or bx. I was hoping that Ted would help us win one. I had decided to enter her in the best dressed with her adorable little pink & white print summer dress, & in the best talented with Ted doing her “dance”. Surely we would win something.

I talked to a man who was taking photos of others & of us. Then I asked if I could take one of him & if he would take one of Ted & me with my camera. So he reached into my backpack purse to get my camera. After that I walked around asking others if I could take photos of them with their dogs. A few people asked if they could take ours.

After awhile the contests started, with the judges being the people who worked at the vet clinic. I didn’t know any of these people because we take our pups to Dr L off base. I don’t remember exactly in what order each contest was. One of the cutest ones was the smallest with the entries being Yorkies, maybe chihuahuas, & a mini dachshund. The judge got down on the ground with a ruler or tape measure to measure each dog from ground to withers. I don’t remember each winner in the categories but I may have some photos of them to put in my blog.

There seemed to be no competition for the tallest, which was easily won by a very sweet German shepherd. For patriotic, owners walked with their dogs around in a circle. Most of the dogs were dressed with red, white, & blue outfits, & some with scarves. People laughed at the shepherd because he was ridiculously dressed, having on bdu pants with a hole cut out for his rather large tail, a t-shirt, a bdu cap, & to complete the matching ensemble a “dog” tag. Bdu for those of you who don’t know, is the military work uniform. The dachshund who won had a flag tucked into his scarf & also wore a red, white, & blue ribbon, which somehow got into my tote bag later.

Now for the really big contest which Ted & I entered, best dressed. We & the other contestants walked around in a circle, with Ted being darlin’. But the winner was a dog who wore a matching bikini which was customized for her or him. It was colorful with the bottoms having a hole cut out for the small tail.

For best talented Ted & I did our trick. Over her head I held my hand moving it in a small clockwise circle while Ted was spinning around in a circle on her back legs, & then I gave her a treat, what amazing talent! We repeated this about 3 more times, with Ted not having stage fright. I believe that she & Hon are descended from circus dogs. Some of the other owners & dogs did tricks such as stay, come, roll over, sit on owner’ back or neck, etc. There will be photos of these on my blog.

No one submitted a photo for look alike owner & pet. So the judges came up with 2 or more dogs who look alike. There was a family with 2 beagles & another with 3 Boston terriers. Two of the judges tied, so they asked a third person to judge. She looked back & forth at the dogs, but finally declared the Boston’s to win, saying that there were 3 of them. Maybe next year we could win if I submit a photo. I could color my hair blond, have spiky fringe on the crown of my head, put dark brown or black eyeliner around my eyes, drawing more liner outward from the corners, & then hug Ted closely for our photo.

At the end of the fair, I walked around to the different tables to get pet-related freebies given out, many wonderful things. I got treats, a large box of Crunch n’ Clean dog biscuits, dog omega-3 vitamins, dog magazines, puzzles with dog & cat pictures on them, a free subscription to the magazine, velcro arm bands with a zipper for change, etc, pens, wipes, a bumper sticker, & pins. At the Hawc table I talked to the techs there, who I see when I go to the Hawc to exercise. They gave me a black Hawc tote bag with health related books & pens. While at the table Ted went under the cloth hanging in front of it, to get cool & to be petted by one of the techs. She is such a sweetie.

The sponsors of the fair were the vet clinic, the bx, the commissary, the Hawc, Purina, & Bark the magazine.

Before leaving I saw a man who I also see sometimes at the Hawc, with his daughter & their 2 tiny Yorkies. One of the Yorkies weighs 3 lbs & the other 3.5. My plate of spaghetti that I eat weighs more than that! While I was taking their photo, little Ted had her big head stuck inside our tote bag that was laying on the ground, busily eating the treats. She is such an opportunist & she knew that I couldn’t watch her, take photos, & talk to people at the same time. There were left only a few treats to bring home to Hon.

Some people said nice things about Ted, that she was pretty, talented, well-behaved & friendly, all true.

Ted seemed like she had become too hot at the fair. I tried to give her water but she didn’t drink much either from our bottle or from the plastic kiddie pools set up for the dogs. I poured some water onto her head trying to cool her.

About noon Ted & I walked to the car where Bill had been waiting for us. He gave Ted cranberry juice with water. Then I left them together while I went to the restroom. I looked into the mirror & I saw that my face was bright red & I also felt that I had heat exhaustion. I drank what little juice I had left & put cold wet paper towels on me. When I felt somewhat better I went to the bx & then to the commissary where I bought 4 boxes of Snap treats on sale for 1$ each. Then I went back to our car & we all went home. Ted & I were exhausted, what a day! I didn’t really feel much better until I ate something & took a cool shower. The next morning I washed my face, looked into the mirror & was relieved to see that I did not have a sunburn. The free sample of sunscreen that I had picked up at Dr M, my dermatologist’s office in Trieste the week before, worked very well.

Overall, we had a really good time at the pet fair. Ted & I have a date for next year.