Good Lord, we all deserve a day like this once in a while.
A week ago Sunday, about a thousand of our closest friends and about 300 of their absolute best friends all came to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds for the Leader Pet Expo, the second in history.
We held the same event the first Sunday in May of 2015 and had no idea of what to expect, attendancewise.
The braintrust (?!) at Leader World Headquarters frequently attempts to come up with new community engagement projects. Some we steal from others (the highest form of flattery), some we think up on our own.
Some are hits; some are misses. We figure if we don’t whiff once in a while, we aren’t taking enough swings.
The Pet Expo was a natural outgrowth of a pet photo contest we’ve been running in the paper for more than a decade. The contest generally drew hundreds of entries from people who were obviously nutty for their pets, so we figured there ought to be an accompanying event.
But what?
It had to be a critter-centered event, of course, so we had to have some room to spread out. There had to be plenty of activities for humans, since they generally make the decisions about whether to come.
We hired Serengeti Steve, a lively, entertaining snake, gator and lizard man who can command a room with his slithery friends. He probably could make a nice living as a stand-up comedian even without his creatures.
The World Bird Sanctuary also presented. The first year the sanctuary brought hawks, eagles and owls. This time the show focused on owls.
Both years we’ve had shows from Incredible Dog Productions, aka Canines in the Clouds, the Frisbee-catching, barricade-jumping dogs who all came from the humble beginnings of rescue shelters.
There were horse rides from the 4-H, alpacas to pet and drug-sniffing dogs from the Sheriff’s Office who put on a demonstration.
For all that, visitors had to pay $1 each to get in. We believe it to be the best bargain in entertainment in the entire county.
We also sold calendars featuring pictures of 60 of the more than 300 entries in the pet photo contest. The $10 calendar price was donated to the Sheriff’s Office to support its K-9 unit.
In addition to the entertainment, there were about 20 exhibitors ranging from veterinarians to kennels to dog chow vendors to trainers to rescue organizations.
In 2015, we had a beautiful sun-soaked afternoon that drew more than a thousand people. Most groups of attendees – couples and families – brought at least one dog with them, so there were 300-plus dogs in attendance. They sniffed each other, got treats from the vendors and behaved themselves better than we could have hoped.
This year, after a week of worrying about an iffy weather forecast, the cloudy morning gave way to sun and a day of low-70s perfection. Another thousand people came out, along with hundreds of dogs, one cat and two tortoises.
The attendance was terrific and the weather even better, but what was so gratifying about the Pet Expo was the positive vibe emitting from everyone through the gate. The people came with human companions – spouses, grandparents, children – and they brought along the family’s best friend. They were there to have fun, and judging by their smiles when they left, they did.
There is a camaraderie among pet owners, an easy, almost automatic kinship that they share. That was on full display at the Pet Expo.
I got to watch it from the front gate, where pet owners of every description came in, sometimes backing up in a line that had their creatures in close proximity. There was nary a growl or a nip – and the dogs behaved themselves, too.
It didn’t make any difference what the people were wearing, whether they appeared to be well-off or not. Nobody wore any political buttons. You couldn’t tell their religion.
They were there because of the critters, and it was an instant fellowship.
In these contentious times, it was a pleasure to spend a beautiful afternoon with people who were not yelling at each other, posting nasty comments online or dealing out any kind of negative vibes. The whole event was a smilefest.
Attendees were there with their two-footed and four-footed loved ones to enjoy the sunshine, the entertainment and ogle all the puppies.
We’ll do it again next year on May 7, 2017, with some of the popular entertainment back and some new activities, too.
After two runs at it, I think we can guarantee a howling good time.
