Throngs of excited people crowded towards the staging area on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Ballard—a quaint little neighborhood in Seattle—camera shutters clicking furiously and cell phone cameras held high. Important-looking people pointed expensive video cameras at the stars of the show. Who were these popular stars that had drawn such an admiring crowd? Britney Spears? Tom Cruise? Madonna? No—it was…dogs. Yes, dogs. Welcome to “Wuff Da,” Ballard’s first annual dog show, an impromptu gathering of Ballard dogs and those that love them.
The idea started as a joke, after bloggers on http://www.myballard.com/ posted pictures of their dogs, saying theirs were the cutest. Bloggers challenged each others on their dogs’ cuteness factor. Pretty soon discussion descended into a cat—er, dog—fight, one blogger saying “my dog can kick your dog’s ass!” The end result was that a contest was born. Dog-lovers volunteered to be judges, Ballard Commons Park was selected as the place for the competition, and the fun began.
Dogs were everywhere, and ranged from tiny miniature dachshunds and chihuahuas, to giant mastiffs and newfoundlands, to just plain mutts. Despite the crowd, dogs and their owners were amazingly well behaved, with nary a dog snarl or stage-mom show-down to be seen. The weather was sunny and not too hot—though many dogs did take advantage of the cooling fountain, sprawling in the wet spray in doggie fashion.
Dogs paraded past the stage in general categories of small, medium, and large, with sub-categories such as: oldest, youngest, wiggliest, and funniest looking. Emcee Tim Hunter was fittingly dressed in a dogs-playing-poker themed shirt, which drew approving shouts from the crowd. A woman who was co-emceeing the event said she had had to put her dog down the day before her honeymoon, so she was “loving on your dogs right now.” She said she especially liked big dogs—and there were plenty there.
Some winning contestants included JoJo, who won for oldest dog, at 14 years; and Cosmo, a young chihuahua mix who won for wiggliest dog. Winning dogs and their owners enjoyed their doggie prizes, many donated by area pet shops and businesses.
But mostly everyone just enjoyed their day in the sun, admiring each others dogs and talking dog-talk. Out there, the recession can rage on, healthcare costs soar, and the world can spin out of control; but here in Seattle, for just a few short hours—we’re chillin.’
Wuff.
The idea started as a joke, after bloggers on http://www.myballard.com/ posted pictures of their dogs, saying theirs were the cutest. Bloggers challenged each others on their dogs’ cuteness factor. Pretty soon discussion descended into a cat—er, dog—fight, one blogger saying “my dog can kick your dog’s ass!” The end result was that a contest was born. Dog-lovers volunteered to be judges, Ballard Commons Park was selected as the place for the competition, and the fun began.
Dogs were everywhere, and ranged from tiny miniature dachshunds and chihuahuas, to giant mastiffs and newfoundlands, to just plain mutts. Despite the crowd, dogs and their owners were amazingly well behaved, with nary a dog snarl or stage-mom show-down to be seen. The weather was sunny and not too hot—though many dogs did take advantage of the cooling fountain, sprawling in the wet spray in doggie fashion.
Dogs paraded past the stage in general categories of small, medium, and large, with sub-categories such as: oldest, youngest, wiggliest, and funniest looking. Emcee Tim Hunter was fittingly dressed in a dogs-playing-poker themed shirt, which drew approving shouts from the crowd. A woman who was co-emceeing the event said she had had to put her dog down the day before her honeymoon, so she was “loving on your dogs right now.” She said she especially liked big dogs—and there were plenty there.
Some winning contestants included JoJo, who won for oldest dog, at 14 years; and Cosmo, a young chihuahua mix who won for wiggliest dog. Winning dogs and their owners enjoyed their doggie prizes, many donated by area pet shops and businesses.
But mostly everyone just enjoyed their day in the sun, admiring each others dogs and talking dog-talk. Out there, the recession can rage on, healthcare costs soar, and the world can spin out of control; but here in Seattle, for just a few short hours—we’re chillin.’
Wuff.
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