Discover Dogs for 2011 was certainly stressful at first. Everything was arranged for one booth when suddenly 48 hours before the event we are offered the booth next door as the breed wasn’t being represented. Now don’t get me wrong, we have argued for a double booth with the KC over the last year as we are one of the most popular breeds on show, so to get the chance we obviously didn’t say no. We still had to fill it with information and have enough dogs on show. Then as that shock hits a call came from Mel in the kitchen "You know your little girl puppy, she has become a lady”. Yes, Shadow is in season. One dog down on the stand! However, an hour later a call came and by chance they are bringing their dog to DD and "would you like some lunchtime cover to give you a break”…..offer taken very quickly!!
To fill the stand we had the idea of printing poster-size pictures and luckily after a visit to the local Staples, the pictures were done and laminated within an hour.
Friday arrived and the van is packed up and we set off for Earls Court at tea time. We take the pups with us to get them use to the atmosphere including that little lady, Shadow. We had a good run up, the show material is dropped off in Earls Court and we set up the stand ready for the next day within three hours, which isn’t bad going.
Saturday - and again a good run through the traffic. The dogs are all in place when the public are let in. Within five minutes we have ten people at the stand; stickers for the kids are going fast as are the leaflets. The dogs are loving it. Jupiter thinks it is great fun while Mercury is fast asleep. Bodger is posing for the cameras as usual and Mark with Pepsi is being asked the same question every time. An hour goes by and change over occurs as Alison with Badger (the pups brother) takes over. For a second it is pandemonium as the brothers are reunited and fun and games is had by all. The greeting of the lost one suddenly dies down but the crowd absolutely loved it.
Lunch time- and at last the dogs and handlers get a break as Di and her dogs arrive to take on the crowd. We get a chance to have a quick sandwich and a walk around the show. Mel takes me shopping for a couple of new dog fleeces and collars and leads. We get some good deals for the search and rescue dogs with light collars and hopefully some sponsorship.
After returning and taking over we thank those who stood in and our lot again are out there meeting the general public. Mercury is now in his element and is a star attraction during the afternoon. By 5pm we and the dogs are ready for home…….still tomorrow to come!
Sunday arrives and we have an extra pair of hands in the shape of my 9 year old niece, Mollie. The dogs again are on top form. The crowds are even larger and we are still meeting people after the show closed at 5 that evening. All the booklets, newsletters and stickers went by 3pm that afternoon. The public had interesting questions but no really silly ones, the most unusual one was "If I buy two Border Collies would I get a discount?” AW dealt tactfully with that one. We raised £150 for the Search & Rescue Dogs split 50/50 between Berkshire and Chiltern units.
The show is over for another year and we are already planning for the next one in 2012. The handlers and dogs are already booked, so it makes life easier. Although a big thank you must go the humans the stars of the show were Pepsi, Badger, Teddy, Bodger, Mist, Mercury and of course Jupiter. They behaved impeccably and showed off the full potential of the breed which isn’t for everyone.
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