Dog shows stay focused on loyalty to community

Dogs of all shapes and sizes will be showcased this weekend at the annual Charlottes-ville-Albemarle Kennel Club Dog Show.

More than 800 dogs from 114 breeds will compete Saturday and more than 725 dogs will compete Sunday at the Foxfield Steeplechase Course in Albemarle County.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day and spectators can attend the event for $5 a carload, but non-competing family pets are not allowed at the event.

The shows not only will celebrate all things dog, but also will help provide a way for the kennel club to give back to the community, said Pam Dent, member of the CAKC board. The dog show is the group’s largest money-making event and fundraiser, she said.

“The [dog] show is the biggest way we get money for our operating expenses and to help give back to the community,” Dent said. “We have a long history of giving back to the community.”

The dogs in this weekend’s competition will compete in seven groups: sporting, hounds, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding. The competitions will run concurrently, along with obedience trials and rallies.

The winner of each group each day will then compete for Best of Show. The Best of Show award will be presented at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Local novelist Rita Mae Brown will present the Best of Show award at 2 p.m. Saturday. An avid animal lover, Brown has written more than 35 books, including a series “co-authored” by her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown.

CAKC dog show organizers have asked Brown to participate in the local dog show for several years, but this was the first year her schedule allowed her to participate in the event, organizers said.

“There will be no standing around looking pretty at this dog show,” said Denise C. Hood, who handles publicity for the event.

“Spectators will be able to see these dogs up close and personal and talk to their owners and handlers.”

Organizers urge spectators to speak to owners or handlers after their dog has been before the judges. Although there will be no dogs for sale at this weekend’s show, spectators can talk to owners and get contact information for breeders. There also will be a variety of vendors on hand selling pet supplies, dog food and dog-related items.

CAKC dog show organizers estimate the show has brought more than $350,000 in revenue into the community in the past years as competitors spend money at local hotels and restaurants.

In past years, CAKC has donated money to the Albemarle County Police Department, the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, Noah’s Ark, Caring Companions and Hearing Dogs, as well as other local and national dog groups.

“Each year we look at the budget and look at what the needs are in the community,” Dent said. “We have groups that come to us for help, and if it’s something connected to dogs, then we help when we can.”

As part of the weekend’s event, the Charlottesville Police Department will have one of its K-9 units on site at noon Saturday to demonstrate the various types of work the police dogs do.

The CAKC recently raised money to buy a similar canine unit for the Albemarle County Police Department. The club helped raise $9,000 to purchase Bink, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois imported from Holland.

In the past, the CAKC also has bought bulletproof vests for Albemarle County police dogs and automatic door openers that attach to the officers’ vests so they can let the dogs out of the vehicles if the human officers are under attack.

Although most of the money has gone to county police, Dent said club members also are very open to helping canine officers on the Charlottesville Police force.

“The Albemarle County Police Department because came to the kennel club and asked for some assistance,” Dent said.

Supporting local programs involving dogs wouldn’t be possible without the annual dog show and other fundraising events. The club, which has approximately 55 members, is open to anyone who has a love of dogs.

“You don’t have to show dogs to be a members of the kennel club,” Dent said. “We always welcome new members.”

Although participation in the event is down this year, Dent thinks the event still will be successful if the weather cooperates and people turn out.

“The economy is hard on everyone right now, and a lot of the shows have been down,” Dent said. “There are certain expenses that we have that are the same no matter how many dogs are in the show, but we’re hoping to make money this year.”

AT A GLANCE

Charlottesville-Albemarle Kennel Club Dog Shows

9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

Foxfield Steeplechase Course

$5 per carload

www.cakc.org

980-3185