THUNDER BAY – Roughly 140 dogs were brought in from across Canada and the United States to compete in the third dog show weekend held by North Shore Dog Club.
Despite the rain, both dogs and their owners were excited to be out and competing at Chippewa Park to see who the goodest boy or girl is this year, according to Yvonne Norton, social chairman for the North Shore Dog Club who said that the show has grown about 20 per cent since last year.
“The weather is not participating with us, but rain or shine, we show the dogs,” she said. “So it's been a a trying day, but it's so far successful.”
The weekend consists of five all-breed approved Canada Kennel Club conformation shows with two limited shows having already been held on Friday.
Norton said that the club was honoured and happy to see so many people travel from so far away to compete.
“Word gets out that Thunder Bay is a great place to come and show your dogs. We are, as a dog community, very, very welcoming, we enjoy and we encourage people to come to our dog shows,” she said.
"So especially for the Americans, this is a more relaxed atmosphere than at the larger AKC - American Kennel Club - shows, so they really do like to come up here and just take a break. They take in our sights, they really, really enjoy coming up."
A Newfie from Missouri named Apollo won best-in-show during Friday morning’s limited show and his owner, Ken Bias, said that he was glad he listened to his friends who told him to visit Canada, calling a 12-hour road trip worth his while.
“I had some friends that came up [and] they talked about how nice all the people are up in Canada, the shows," he said. "Then I had a couple of new friends that said, 'Hey, we're going to Thunder Bay, come up' and I'm like, okay!"
The show will continue over the weekend with one unlimited show scheduled for Saturday and two more unlimited shows scheduled for Sunday.
Fur a full schedule, visit the North Show Dog Club Facebook page.
