Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Dogs may leave owners deep in spaghetti
By Bill Whitaker
Local canines may wind up walking their masters rather than
vice versa this Saturday, depending on how much obedience, training
and just plain animal smarts is exhibited by the pets themselves.
If nothing else, the first-ever Dogbone Festival at the Abilene
Civic Center promises to be the only place in all West Texas where
you can witness tap-dancing dogs or dogs participating in Tae
Kwon Do demonstrations or overly confident owners balancing an
egg in a spoon while walking pets.
But if that all sounds like a lot of doggone nonsense, think
again.
Annette Turner, 36, owner of Pampered Pet Inn, one of the event’s
sponsors, says the competition should go a long way toward showcasing
the talent and resourcefulness of our best friends. To hear Annette,
more people might show proper respect for domestic animals if
they knew what they were truly capable of.
“So many dogs are turned in to shelters, I think, because
so many people don’t know all that they can do,” she
told me. “So many of the dogs down there would be perfect
for, say, team therapy with patients in our hospitals. If people
have problems with dogs as far as digging and jumping and just
running away, there may be a reason.
“The reason a lot of times is that they’re put in
the back yard with nothing at all to do.”
Co-sponsored by KTXS-TV and KEAN, Saturday’s Dogbone Festival
will also feature professional dog handlers as well as groomers.
In fact, the latter will engage in a grooming competition. (This
on the QT — I hear one of the groomers will be grooming a
dog to look like Santa Claus.)
Envisioned as an annual fund-raiser for Rescue the Animals
and the Taylor-Jones Humane Society, the event begins at 9 a.m.
with demonstrations throughout the day. Dog games — including
the aforementioned egg-spoon test (the spoon must be in the same
hand as the leash), dog croquette, Tic Tac Dog and the fastest-eating
dog contest — get under way at 11:30.
Admission is free, though it’ll cost you $2 to enter a
competition and $1 for each subsequent event. The event continues
till 5 p.m.
One of the most offbeat events is “Blind Dog Bluff,”
in which dogs lead their blindfolded masters through something
of an obstacle course, including a pile of spaghetti. The idea
is that the dogs will lead their masters clear of the spaghetti
pitfall, though, Annette admits, “we expect many of the owners
will wind up in the spaghetti.”
But the highlight may well be some young dancers from Dance
Discovery leading dogs in a session of tap-dancing. Dogs will
be outfitted in top hats and bow ties.
“We’re actually doing a Broadway hit and the scratch
song,” Annette said. “I don’t know exactly what
the ‘scratch song’ is, but the tap group does it. We’ve
got another practice session tomorrow night. Anyway, the dogs
love it. But I think that’s mostly because they get to dance
with the kids, not because they like any of the dance numbers.”
Toga and all
Just in case anyone had doubts about Rose Williams, the former
Cooper High School Latin teacher really did come to her book-signing
party at Abilene Book Store last Thursday night adorned in nothing
more than a Roman toga.
Of course, it was a somewhat updated version of a toga.
On hand to sign the American edition of her droll Latin tourist
guide, Which Way to the Vomitorium, Rose insisted the toga she
wore was far more than the sort of mere bed sheet college students
wore during the late 1970s, when toga parties became popular on
college campuses nationwide.
“Actually, this is a Halston,” Rose told me. “My
friend Bill Overton found it at a garage sale and gave it to me.
It was really sold as a sort of evening dress. And it’s just
wonderful. You slip it on and away you go!”
Bill Whitaker, who wouldn’t know a Halston from a toga
anyway, can be reached at 676-6732 or whitakerb@abinews.com.
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