|
| |
Is
there more to Crufts than agility?
 Crufts
again. Had she done it all wondered Mary Ann Nester? Had she earned her seat on the
settee with Ben Fogle on the box? She'd been to Crufts as a competitor, a groom, a spectator
and a shopper but always with agility in mind. Never
before had she worked on a stand - what some would call the plebeian face of Crufts!
Time to notch up a new experience!
We agility people can be a bit snobby, especially around
other dog owners who can't tell the difference between one end of the tunnel and the other but
love their pets just as much as we do. I wasn't going to let anyone call me a snob. So, who
would want a brash, loud mouthed American who shouts 'Go the Poodles!' whenever something with
a curly coat whizzes over the A-frame and misses the contact? I work for Vets Now so it
made sense to volunteer to help on their stand in Hall 5.
 Who
are Vets Now?
Vets Now are the UK's leading out-of-hours
emergency veterinary care provider. They are opened week nights, week-ends and Bank Holidays -
any time that your own veterinary surgery is closed. When your German Shepherd scoffs all the
chocolate Easter eggs, call us. When your Papillon is blown off the dog walk, dial our number.
When your collie chases one car too many, come straight away.
At Crufts, Vets Now would be asking for donations to the Pet Blood Bank UK
charity as well as collecting signatures for a petition to allow veterinary ambulances to
operate under the Green Light Scheme. They needed someone with my vocal abilities!
 Pet
Blood Bank UK
Instead of sitting down and taking notes on
who was winning what, I spent the morning on my feet asking anyone I could collar to make a
donation to the Pet Blood Bank - no, not their blood but money - in exchange for a
Frisbee and lead. I quickly realised how many agility friends I have with spare coins in their
pockets and how difficult it is to say Pet Blood Bank ten times a minute.
Whether you have a companion pet, a show dog or a canine athlete, there may come
a time when your dog needs a blood transfusion to save his life. It was no surprise to me that
agility people always stopped, had a chat and tried to learn as much as they could about the
charity. If you would like further information or want to find out how your dog could become a
donor, visit www.petbloodbankuk.org
 The
Green Light Scheme
There is no better place than Crufts to
learn more about our canine friends and ways to make the world more dog friendly. Once I got a
donation for the Pet Blood Bank, I moved the conversation to the 'Give us the Green Light'
campaign. Anyone who has ever had a dog needing emergency first aid and speedy transport to a
veterinary surgery signed our petition to include animal ambulances in the Green Light Scheme.
A flashing green light would alert other road users to the presence of our vehicles en route to
accidents and emergencies. Even when I explained to several mini dog handlers that wearing a
flashing green light on their forehead would not guarantee an automatic right of way in the
Eukanuba Knock-Out class, they were still keen to sign. If you want to sign go to
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/VetAmbulance
Every Dog's a star!
It is easy to think that Crufts is just about
competitions - agility, obedience, heelwork to music, flyball or breed but that is just
the beginning. For the past two years, the 'activity' dogs have been able to hold finals and
demonstrations in the Pavilion Arena ensuring that agility virgins and confirmed addicts can
get a seat.
It's easy to stay put and give the rest of Crufts a miss. Please don't. As
I worked the crowds around the Vets Now stand, it became plain to me that there is more to dog
ownership than agility training. I talked to people whose dogs had survived terrible accidents,
performed amazing feats of bravery or simply did the funniest things to make them laugh. Just
like agility people, everyone at Crufts wants to brag about their dog and there's no denying
that they aren't special!
|
Photo: Chris Garrett |
Flying the Agility Flag
In retrospect, I had a balanced visit
to Crufts, but I also got my agility fix. The highlight of my day was seeing Tracy Day
win the KC Starter's Final with Bluella Woodman. What a smile! And I love seeing
the Large, Medium and Small dog handlers working together in the Eukanuba Mini/Mixi
Pairs, won this year by Allan Bray with Skylar and Mandy Sue Sarti with Tilly.
Many
of the finalists were experience handlers who qualify for this event year after year
among them Carol Wallace with her maxi partner Don Nunn and Charlie Brown. In fact, Carol
was rarely out of the Arena although I did bump into her several times when she was
dragging props from the car park for her heel work routine or changing a mini dog for a
medium one for agility. It certainly isn't easy training more than one dog to such a high
level in one discipline, but two?! Now that's real multi-tasking. So I shouted the
loudest for Carol's Agility Champion Compo and Gina Graham's Cas who flew the flag for
agility in the Canine Freestyle Final. Sorry ladies, if I embarrassed you with my
cheering. Yes, Agility dogs can do more than jump hurdles!
All in all, I had a great day at Crufts. Yes, there
is lots more than agility going on if you have a look around. I got my agility fix and I
helped the Pet Blood Bank raise funds and gathered lots of signatures for the Give us a
Green Light campaign. And I saw some great dogs and handlers that should provide me with
inspiration for the rest of the year. And best of all, I went home with a full purse -
well, I was too busy to do any shopping! |
 About
the author...
Mary Ann Nester was born in the USA and came to Britain in 1972 as a student. In
1997 she set up Aslan Dog Training Club, named after
her lurcher and first agility dog. She now combines dog training and writing with working
as the clinic administrator at Vets Now Ltd - Northampton, an out-of-hours emergency service.
Mary Ann is the author of
Agility Dog Training,
an informative and entertaining book written in a question and answer format with lots of
photos and illustrations.
Known as a Small dog handler, Mary Ann’s greatest agility
successes have been with miniature poodles, Brillo and Daz. Both have both been finalists
at Olympia and Crufts and have competed at international level. Brillo represented Great
Britain at the World Agility Championships in 2001 (Portugal) and Daz in 2002 (Germany) and
2003 (France).
When not chasing her own dogs around an agility course or
teaching people how to catch theirs, Mary Ann is either judging, acting as a KC measurer or
watching her favourite hospital dramas on TV under a pile of poodles.
|
