Monday, October 05, 2015

Penny and a Budweiser Clydesdale

Monday already? Does anyone find it ironic that it's reserved for the "Mischief" blog hop? As I read on a Facebook meme yesterday, "My Saturday was going pretty well until I realized it was Sunday."

My actual Saturday was really fun this weekend. We took Penny to the "Wags to Whiskers Festival" at Anheuser-Busch (the Budweiser factory). The event is an annual fundraiser for one of our local humane societies, and I'm not sure why we hadn't heard about it before.

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There was all sorts of fun going on for both dogs and humans, including dock diving and agility demonstrations (dogs could try out the agility apparatus as well, but we didn't stand in the line with Penny), an activity tent and pie eating contest for the mini humans, make and take cat toys, raffles, vendors galore (most of whom had really cool free stuff), food and beer for the humans, and lots of adorable puppies and older dogs up for adoption.  I was a little taken aback that they were allowing people to adopt right there on site, as in my experience with rescue that was never allowed. Perhaps things have changed over the years.

Penny seemed unimpressed with the dock dogs demonstrations.  She was more interested in people and pup watching behind the action.


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There was an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most dogs having their teeth brushed simultaneously.  They needed 300 dogs, and unfortunately fell just short of that number.  We planned to participate, but when we got there we found out Penny was too young.  Apparently the dogs needed to be at least a year old (because apparently puppies don't need to brush their teeth?).  Absolutely no idea why.  The lady running the sign in booth said they just found out that morning and seemed a bit baffled about it as well.

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Penny had an absolute blast.  She met so many great people and dogs, including a precious adult female Doberman named Banana.  Penny was smitten, as was Banana. We chatted with her owners for a bit as the girls admired each other and played... but I can't believe I forgot to snap a photo of them together! I realized when we got home I really didn't snap any photos of other dogs, except for this one.  I'm not sure if Penny was admiring his lime green PJ's or if she was wondering what the crazy green thing was.

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Penny was stopped several times by photographers wanting to snap her photo... proud Mama moments! She was also stalked stopped by several kids asking to pet her. I was very impressed with a group of little girls who must have been around 6-8 years old. They all approached slowly, one at a time and and each asked separately, "May I please pet your dog?" Kudos to the great parenting.

My girl tried a couple of new tricks at the "do a trick, win a prize" booth. While she didn't catch on to bobbing for treats in the ball bin, she did jump through the hoop for the nice lady.

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She even got some cute bling for doing a trick (sure, okay, the bling was supposed to be for the human kids, but whatever).

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As mentioned above, most all of the vendors seemed to have freebies.  I was actually pretty impressed with the quality.  While my favorite just might be the green canvas tote bag from Merrimack Veterinary Hospital (not only did it make a great catch-all for the goodies we collected, but it's a nice little sized tote compared to the rest I have, making it versatile for a knitting bag, or to haul around dog stuff... plus just look at their cute logo), Penny's favorites were the food and treats!

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While I didn't purchase any raffle tickets, I did make a small donation in exchange for this adorable little nuts and bolts doggy sculpture. I might have to take up welding...

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As we were walking back to our car, we decided to walk through the Clydesdale stable and courtyard area. We had no idea they had one of the boys outside for pictures, or that they would allow dogs to have their photos snapped with him! The stables are home to the East Coast eight-horse hitch and apparently on the first Saturday of the month, they do these fun photo opportunities.

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How many dogs can say they've had their photo taken with a Budweiser Clydesdale?!?! Penny sure can brag about it!

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I still need to scan in the photo we purchased with the nice frame around it, but someone did nicely snap a couple shots on my cell phone.  I love them, even if she did cut off the top of that poor horse's head. 

The only thing they didn't allow dogs to do was go inside the stable where humans could see the rest of the hitch up close.

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I've had the pleasure of seeing the Clydesdales in the past, but would never pass up an opportunity to get so close to these gorgeous, magnificent creatures.

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Penny had fun people, dog and Clydesdale watching in the courtyard while her Daddy took his turn inside the stables. She romped around with a Weimaraner puppy too... but of course, I forgot to snap a pic.

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On the way out of the courtyard, we walked past this sign. 

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Thank you so much to the staff for making great exceptions on Wags to Whiskers day! Penny and several other dogs had the chance of a lifetime!

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It was a fabulous fall day (cool temps and the rain held off!)... we'll definitely plan to go back again next year!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Such a fun time! And there were PUMPKINS involved?! Wahoo!

Golden Daily Scoop said...

So fun! Looks like it was a great festival!! Hope the lapdogs have a great week!

Unknown said...

Looks like so much fun and you got your picture taken with a real Budweiser Clydesdale! I'm jealous!!! Penny better brag this up for awhile!!! :)

Groovy Goldendoodles said...

Penny is gorgeous! She's really growing fast. Sounds like this was a great day for both humans and pets. I would love to have seen a Clydesdale up close - they look HUGE! Thanks for sharing with us.

Unknown said...

It looks like Penny had a great day. And you too :) I wonder why puppies don't need their teeth brushed?

maryehaight said...

What a fabulous looking horse, and the stables! Oh my! Looks like it was a great day with plenty to keep you busy =)

Marjie said...

I love the Clydesdales. It's great that you got your picture taken with that big boy.

Talking-Dogs said...

Wow, what a great event and what a terrific experience for Penny!

Unknown said...

Fab photos.

Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them said...

Wow!! What an awesome event! Those horses are beautiful, but not as beautiful as you of course! That teeth brushing thing is interesting.
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

M. K. Clinton said...

That is fantastic!! I would love to visit there especially with the dogs. I saw the Clydesdale team once and they are enormous. SO beautiful too. You really received some terrific goodies. Thank you for pet parading with us this week.

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