Charity begins at…

At our usual holiday destination there is an annual dog show, run by a small rehoming charity that undoubtedly has to compete with larger local charities for every donation.

This year, as was the case across most of the UK, the area experienced torrential rain – the kind that comes down sideways, limits your field of vision and makes it feel like the apocalypse rather than July.

Yet we still turned up…

Dedicated supporters

As regular readers may remember, our dog Hollie is a bit special. Parading around a ring isn’t her thing, and it really pushes her out of her comfort zone – which is why, for behavioural reasons, it’s something we try to do regularly.

However, we also wanted to support this small charity, Scallywags Dog Rescue. Why? Because It’s run by dedicated volunteers and this show is one of the charity’s main fund-raising events of the year, timed to coincide with the local town’s main festival.

Usually people are queuing up to book places in the classes that run all day. This year I think the entrants topped out at 18 by the time it started.

Proud mummy

We entered Hollie in “Best Veteran” (it was suggested we also enter Prettiest Bitch, but I think two classes in gale-force winds and heavy rain would have finished us both off) and we got second prize – a lovely rosette and goodie bag for Hollie and that warm, fuzzy feeling of being a proud mummy for me.

We’ll be back next year, hoping for better weather and that elusive first place.

If this is the start of 40 days of inclement weather, please make sure you and your clients remember the small charities doing dog shows at this time of year – it might be their biggest day of the year, and they need your support.  We never know when we may rely on them to take a pet or, hopefully, provide us with a new family member.