Going to the Dogs

Donna and I try to stay active. We like doing things, so I'm always combing the paper looking for something that might interest us. And we always enjoy doing something new to us, something we've never done before.

A week or so ago, the Concho Kennel Dog Club of San Angelo sponsored an AKC sanctioned dog show at Foster Coliseum. We love dogs and were looking for something to do, so it seemed a natural for us. We had never been to a dog show before but had watched several on television. So even though we had a rough idea of what goes on at a dog show, we really weren't too sure what to expect.

Foster Communications Coliseum is the main events venue in San Angelo.

The show began Friday and continued through Sunday. We drove out to Foster Communications Coliseum in north San Angelo, site of the show, on Friday afternoon and watched the obedience trials. This was a pretty intimate affair off in a side room. We were able to get up close to the dogs and mingle with some of them.

We returned to the show on Saturday morning. The main coliseum floor was partitioned into several areas where best of breed competitions were being held. Vendors were also located on the main floor. Although we spent most of the morning in the bleachers watching the individual breed competitions, we did wander through the floor area to get a close-up look at several dogs. There was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that we had seen from our seats that was being groomed, and we wanted to get a close look at her. She was, indeed, a beautiful dog.

East end of the coliseum, main floor. Fence in the front is edge of show arena, while vendor booths are visible in the background. You can also see a couple of cocker spaniels being groomed in front of the photography booth.

Woman waiting to show her cocker. If you look closely, you will see various dogs in the background being groomed.

A judge is looking over a group of schnauzers.

Poodles being groomed for their upcoming competition.

This is a good shot to show all the activity that goes on at a dog show. People in front center, by the trash can, are waiting to show their dogs. Notice their number arm bands. To the right of them are cages on a rolling platform. Grooming is going on everywhere. The little Cavalier we liked is just beneath the EZGO sign; you can see her standing on a table with her head turned. It's a busy place!

The main floor was a busy place. People were getting their dogs ready and moving them to the area outside where they were to show them. Others were doing last minute grooming on their dogs. Other dogs were in cages; either they had already participated, or their show time was a long way off.

It was an enjoyable outing, and it afforded us the opportunity to see lots of dogs of various breeds.