Turnout drags amid heat
Laura Bond, Reporter
06-29-2009
Sprawled out on the grass awaiting their turns, Kimberly Toney, Bronwyn Storey and Mandi Gresham prepared their dogs Elmo, Delilah and Bell for the upcoming competition. “Elmo knows tricks, but he’s not going to do them because it’s too hot,” said Toney, 21, of her miniature Doberman and Chihuahua mix. “Elmo can sit, lay down and is working on rolling over — he can roll on his side.”
Delilah, part Chihuahua, was decked out in sequin attire, and Mandi’s mother, Robin Gresham, packed plaid bloomers and a white shirt to dress Peek-a-poo Bell like a school girl.
Only about 30-40 pets were present at the Peach Festival Pet Show on Sunday, which coordinator Claire Carroll said was about half the size of past shows.
“It’s strictly due to the heat today,” Carroll said. “We usually have anywhere from 75-100 participants.”
The heat not only reduced the number of contestants and the size of the crowd, but it also appeared to impact the dogs’ abilities to perform tricks. At least that was emcee Buddy Terzia’s conclusion as several pets missed the mark.
Just moments before the competition began, 9-year-old Bethani Davis was worried her dachshund Paisley wouldn’t come through under the pressure. Paisley’s trick? To stand on her hind legs.
“Really she started doing it by herself,” Bethani said. “But when she wouldn’t do it on her own, I would snap my fingers and she would do it.”
Bethani’s foolproof plan hit a snag when it came performance time. Despite the commanding repeated snaps of Bethani’s fingers, Paisley scurried away near the judge’s table, where one of them petted her.
But the heat did not appear to be an issue for Mlle Schroeder, who won the Outstanding Other Pet competition with her cat food-eating hedgehog. Holding the grapefruit-size creature in one hand, the 11-year-old said, “I don’t know if hedgehogs are in the porcupine family — I would say they’re in the pinecone family.”
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Pet Show winners
• Outstanding Dog — Elli Dickerson with Old English Bulldog Daffovil, first place; Jordan Scott with chocolate Lab Big Boy, second place; Chloe Woodard with Shih Tzu Batisha, third place
• Best Dressed Dog — Lexie Terry with Yorkie Ella, first place; Bronwyn Storey with Chihuahua Delilah, second place; MaKayla Perez with Shih Tzu Whitnie, third place
• Best Dog Trick — MaKayla Perez with Whitnie; first place; Jacqueline Chandler with Sammie; second place; Jacob Luke with Bullet, third place
• Outstanding Cat — Skyelar Scott with Brutis, first place
• Outstanding Other Pet – Mlle Schroeder with hedgehog, first place; Dalton Herbert with mussels; second place
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