Pet Expo...

Wendy, Roberta, Sandy and I went to Calgary for the day today just to see the sights. I had never been to a "Pet Expo" before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. The building was FULL of displays, people, and pets. It was quite the spectacle. There was a lot of cool stuff, and some strange....

Before I talk about the weird stuff- let me tell you about the good stuff.

In two words- the shopping. There were booths selling everything from breed specific stuff, to collars I'd never seen anywhere else. It was very cool. I of course spent most of the time drooling over the collars. I bought three. I couldn't resist.

The Rescue Displays were fantastic- lots of Alberta rescues were set up with their available dogs on site, and the place was packed so I am sure they educated a lot of people. There were some very cute dogs- and I think that the general public was shocked to see such great dogs needing homes.

The demos were pretty neat- they had speakers there for Pet First Aid, Massage, Bird Care, General Dog Care, and lots more. They also had a "main stage" area with various demos- Freestyle, Mini Horse Tricks, Dog Tricks, Heelwork to Music, and Agility. We didn't watch much in the way of demos- we were much too distracted by the shopping..... :o)

The weird and disturbing stuff

Rabbit Agility- I kid you not. We didn't actually see any of the rabbits doing stuff- but they had the little course all set up- a teeter too...I wish we would have gotten to see it. Definitely Weird.

The Petting Zoo- I am always saddened a bit by the petting zoo- although this one seemed to be pretty good- the animals were all clean, and healthy looking and for most part well adjusted. The kids were very well supervised, and not too many treats were being handed out (nothing worse than goats and sheep with the major shits....) Lots of baby goats- a miniature cow. And the Kangaroo. The thing was petrified however and wouldn't come out from under the bench. I felt really badly for it and didn't stick around to watch for long.

The Pony Rides- again it makes me sad. Eight little ponies going around, and around, and around carrying screaming children around, and around, and around. I did see them take the ponies out and give them a break though which was nice....but still.

And apparently they will let anyone set up a booth. There was a breeder of Weimaraners there- with a big display etc, and the saddest looking Weim I have ever seen. It had a horrible head, was hugely overweight and was a dull steel color. It was also pretty nervous. Not Attractive at all, and not what a Weimaraner should look like- or act like. I was pretty appalled. This same breeder has been denied membership from the breed club, and always runs ads on Kijiji and the like- bragging about their rare Blue Weimaraners....sick, sick, sick....

Now that my rant is over....

I really did have a good time! It was nice to get out of Lethbridge, and we had a great drive- some interesting conversation for sure!!! We grabbed lunch at a place called Jack Astors on the way out. And stopped at Petsmart where they had some really good deals on! The event itself was pretty cool. I saw lots of people I knew- which was kind of neat, and caught up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. Oh, and the shopping was great!!!!