“IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FILM DOGS, WE BEGAN ANNUAL VISITS TO THE HOSPITAL ITSELF TO DO THE SHOW FOR THE CHILDREN ON THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT.”
Numerous groups agreed to do dem - onstrations during the event some of them were, Pointing dogs, Retrievers, search and rescue, Schutzhund, herd- ing, Guide Dogs for the Blind, thera- py, freestyle and dancing dogs, drug and law enforcement dogs, fox hunt- ing, Beagle field trials, coon hounds and go to ground. Many of those that attended the event can remember our herding demon- stration person using his Border Col- lies to herd a group of sheep through- out the grounds during the event. THE STARS CAME OUT One member of our committee worked hard with a trainer in Holly- wood to bring Gus, the white Siberian Husky from the film Iron Will , The St. Bernard from the film Beethoven and the Golden Retriever, Shadow, from the film The Incredible Journey to Memphis. She created a show us- ing the dogs that was presented on stage several times a day to entertain the public. In conjunction with the film dogs, we began annual visits to the hospital itself to do the show for the children on the day before the event. At first, the dogs were not permitted inside the hospital because at that time the medical profession worried about possible infections and other risks to the patients, but over the years there were many visits by canine celebrities like “Air Bud” and other TV and film dogs. This would eventually lead to a canine therapy group being allowed into the hospital as well as Ronald McDonald andTarget house to soothe and comfort the children. I am happy
to say I think our visits were instru- mental in the eventual acceptance of therapy dogs, not only at St. Jude, but also in many hospitals throughout the country. One year the Golden Retriever, Bud- dy, from the Air Bud film performed and he had a very special impact on everyone as Bud himself was also undergoing cancer treatment at the time. Many patients that year were especially moved by their interaction with this very special canine. OTHER CONTESTS We annually invited several elemen- tary schools to participate in a St. Jude Showcase of Dogs art contest and these kids did a fantastic job with their art. The winning art used on the annual event T-Shirts. Also, all the submitted art was put on display for everyone to enjoy. There was another special event we had that was open to all including the public. We called it “Super Dog” and it was a fun competition judged by local celebrities and others. At the first event, Jim Deringer from the AKC served as one of the judges. Su- per Dog was made up of events such as “Bag Your Dog”, a contest to see which dog would sit still the longest with a paper shopping bag on its head; “Get In the Car”, that determined which dog had the fastest time from the starting line to get in the adjacent car; “Call Your Dog”, where two own- ers would hide behind a structure and bet on who the dog would come in the fastest time; “The Maze”, where dogs were released into amaze and encour- aged through it with the fastest time;
“Dress Your Dog”, a race to a pile of human clothes where you would put a shirt and pants on your dog and run back to the finish line; “The Obstacle Course” for both people and their dogs—fastest time wins. There were other events as well. Each competitor earned points and the eventual win- ner was crowned “Super Dog.” KIDDIE FUN ZONE Since our event was about the chil- dren, wewanted tohave an areawhere the kids could kick back and have fun. We talked about fair-type rides, but found the financial commitments and liabilities were highhigh. We decided instead on a kiddie fun zone where we had kids’ games and various inflata - bles along with a small-scale rideable train to entertain and amuse children with their parents. I am not aware of any really large scale Meet the Breeds type of events in 1994, but we decided that we would invite every AKC parent club in the country to participate. We provid- ed them with a free 10x10 pipe and draped booth to present their breed to the general public, and to also offer them the opportunity to present their breed to judges and exhibitors in the form of breed seminars that would be provided free of charge to poten- tial judges considering judging their breed. This was at a time when there were very few seminars available in one place and way before the AKC in- stitutes we have today. BREED BOOTHS AND SEMINARS That first event would feature over 60 individual breed seminars. AKC
22 • T op N otch T oys , A pril 2022
Powered by FlippingBook