I Did It!

But first, my deepest apologies to my empathic friends. I should have warned you of today's plans in advance. I'm sorry for worrying you and I sure hope you could shield yourselves from the wave upon wave of pure terror that were radiating from me all afternoon.

Why? I spent hours wandering around the preliminary day for the Philadelphia Kennel Club dog show which is being held at the Reading Expo Center this weekend. I can hear you all asking huh? There's one little detail I left out. You see, I'm absolutely petrified of dogs. There are a few exceptions but those are ones I've gotten to know slowly in very controlled circumstances.

So what the hell was I doing there in this ginormous wide-open space in the midst of hundreds of all sorts of canines just waiting for the opportunity to maul me? It was the other half of my mom's birthday present. Somehow she's failed to grasp the very real fact of my fear over the years although today may have finally convinced her.

I was okay while we were watching the agility demonstration. I'm not sure who was more athletic, the dogs or the girl throwing the frisbies for them. That was entertaining and we were seated up, out of reach in the draped in arena that will be featured in tomorrow's benched show which will be shown on TV on Thanksgiving day following the Macy's parade. I could handle watching that part and they were amazing so I forgot to be afraid.

Then we wandered around and looked at the dogs. Lots of deep breathing and internal chanting going on to stave off the blackness that was encroaching on the edges of my vision. I came across a golden retriever who had the eyes of a very old soul. He was sitting on his grooming table without a lead but with him it was obvious he wasn't going anywhere. He'd already seen it all. When his eyes met mine we stayed still, gazing at each other for a bit. He had a calming effect on me which was a very welcomed thing. Too bad he had to go so soon.

We ended up sitting at the main ring for the day watching the group judging. I'm not real up on how it all works but it seemed to be the best of each individual breed competing against others within their class. The kennel club has distinctions, working, sporting, terrier, toy, and various others. To me it was small scary, scary, big scary and gigantic scary. I really don't see how they can judge such a mixture all at once but they do. The people around me who understood such things were all abuzz over some over some of the choices, concurred with some others so I guess it was okay overall.

At one point there was a red and white husky beside me whose owner was speaking with someone and ignoring the dog. Every time I checked, she was watching me with a mm, you look tasty expression on her face. My mom was chatting with a woman on the other side of her who had a french bulldog. I guess I was too much to resist. The bulldog had to nibble on me. Well that made the husky jealous so she had to chew on the other hand. And all her owner said was not to jump up. I was very proud of myself. I didn't pass out. I didn't even cry.

I'm home now, in one piece, yay! And my mom gets that I'm honestly afraid. She's going back tomorrow and my presence is no longer required. If you're at all interested this is one of the five or six benched national shows to be televised this year, on NBC next Thursday at noon EST. Or if you're close by it concludes on Sunday but you'll have to go without me. Give me a call however, I'd be happy to meet you for lunch.