Best in Show

« A competitor at a recent puppy show in Ruoholahti peeks out from his nest to check out the local scenery. A small gallery of photos from the puppy show. »

Otava couldn't go to a recent puppy show, but I went anyway with a friend just to see all the adorable puppies. I had originally imagined that it would be an amateur sort of fun show for owners and their pets, but there were a lot of serious owners there looking for serious competition although it wasn't quite Best in Show. The Kaapelitehdas is an old cable factory with a large space inside, which was filled to the gills, and giant windows that allowed sunshine to pour in, creating wide beams and pools of bright light like stage spotlights in each ring.

There were oodles of micro-dogs, golden retrievers, bernese and leonbergers. A trio of basset hounds were a source of much amusement as they would wrap their leashes around the legs of those who came within their reach. A group of great danes gathered in a large room off to the side to keep from unwittingly stepping on the tiny dogs. In spite of the tremendous difference in size and temperament, the scuffles were few. I bought one of the programmes and noticed that many of the registered names were in English which wasn't really what I was expecting. Some of them were pretty cute and amusing, too.

• Fanny Love - Makes me wonder if he is an ass biter. It's even more disturbing if the British translation of fanny is used. :)
• Unleash Me - ...my darling, let me go.
• Love Machine - Soon to be a big hit on the stud circuit.
• Angel of Demon - A dog with a split personality?
• Simple the Pest - Complex the solution.
• Darth Vader - He probably drools a bit more than the original. It breaks the tradition of fearsome names like 'killer' being given to chihuahua's and names like 'daisy' going to the giants like this one.
• Made in Denmark - Better than Taiwan.
• I'm Your Boogie Man - I'll bet his nickname is Freddie.
• Jet Plane Pilot - "This is your captain, woof woof wooof woooooof.."
• Miss Twiggy - for a labrador no less. :)
• Intercepted Pass - Don't play frisbee with this guy.
• One Night in Bangkok - gets his kicks above the waistline, sunshine. And I thought I was the only one who saw Chess.
• Bee in a Bonnet - for a shih tzu. awwwwww. :)