AKC RDO Day in Raleigh, North Carolina
Saturday, September 9, 2006
With over 1000 people and at least 65 breeds in attendance, Raleigh's AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day on September 9th was a great day for the dogs! The event began with a speech from ten-year-old Mary Silliman, the winner of the North Carolina State 4-H Small and Companion Animal Speech Contest. She emphasized responsible dog ownership - from selecting the right dog for a person's lifestyle to veterinary care. Before selecting her own Australian Shepherd, Mary spent many hours researching the breed.
AKC employee Penny Leigh and her flyball team, Go Dog Go, performed two demonstrations throughout the day. Leigh's students from Town and Country Animal Care also treated the crowd to two agility demonstrations. Michelle Lennon, a Rottweiler fancier and local trainer, invited her friends and students to educate the RDO Day audience about the AKC's newest companion event, Rally. Christie Canfield and her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Dixie, performed a Canine Freestyle demonstration with some of their friends. The highlight of the demonstrations was the Raleigh Police Department K-9 Unit demonstration, which included everything from obedience work to how the officers and their dogs apprehend a suspect.
In between demonstrations, kids enjoyed a magician and had their faces painted by Chris Evans, the son of AKC employee Theresa Evans, and Lori Plant from Pet Partners, Inc. To win prizes such as subscriptions to AKC Family Dog magazine, AKC Complete Dog Books, local restaurant gift certificates, and various dog toys and apparel; attendees answered dog trivia questions for a spin of the prize wheel, manned by two of the 42 AKC employee volunteers at the event. RDO Day attendees picked up free raffle tickets to win high-end prizes from Best Friends Pet Care, Sherpa, dog.com, Dog House Resort, Tommy Midyette pet portraits, Cookies by Design, and A Place for Paws. For a complete list of companies who donated items for the event, please check the bottom of this page.
Other activities throughout the day included free Canine Good Citizen testing from AKC evaluators Sydney Suwannarat and Larry Sorensen, who performed 61 tests with 90 percent of the dogs passing the test; a discounted microchipping clinic with AKC Canine Animal Recovery, which implanted 150 microchips; grooming demonstrations from Best Friends Pet Care; and a Meet the AKC Breeds tent.
Also in attendance were eight local AKC clubs and two local purebred rescue organizations, the AKC Canine Health Foundation, the AKC Public Education booth, and the AKC Pet Healthcare Plan.
Thank you to Millbrook Exchange Park and all of the volunteers and organizations who helped make this event a big success, and we hope to see you next year!
Video Clips:
Click on image for caption and larger view. Photos by Bob Burns and Robert Young/AKC.
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
', 350, 530)) |
and Reyna (right) - German Shepherd Dogs', 470, 430)) |
) |
) |
', 470, 430)) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
 Test', 350, 530)) |
 Test', 350, 530)) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
 Test', 470, 430)) |
 Test - Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever', 350, 530)) |
 Test - Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever', 350, 530)) |
) |
) |
) |
 Test', 350, 530)) |
 Test', 350, 530)) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
) |
| Thanks to the many wonderful organizations that appeared at AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day in North Carolina this September! We thank them for their generous support of this event. |
|
AKC Meet the Breeds: Carolina Australian Cattle Dog Club Central Carolina Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Central Carolina English Setter Club Triangle Herding Club of North Carolina Japanese Chin Club of America Sussex Spaniel Club of America Triangle Sheltie Rescue North Carolina Schnauzer Rescue Cary Kennel Club Raleigh Kennel Club AKC employees and local fanciers, bringing over 30 additional AKC breeds Participating Organizations: Best Friends Pet Care City of Raleigh K9 Police Unit Go Dog Go Flyball Team NC State Veterinary School Pet Partners Insurance AKC Canine Health Foundation AKC Companion Animal Recovery Goodie Bag Donations: Best Friends Pet Care dog.com AKC Family Dog Dog House Resort Raleighwood Cinema Grill Three Dog Bakery Other Donations: Best Friends Pet Care dog.com Sherpa Dog House Resort AKC Family Dog Three Dog Bakery Happy Inu Bakery A Place for Paws Raleighwood Cinema Grill Cookies by Design Tommy Midyette The Honeybaked Ham Co. Red Robin Cold Stone Creamery Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill Jamaica Paradise Carolina Ale House Sweet Tomatoes One-2-One Fitness JB Wholesale Pet Supplies Inc. Panera Bread Red Lobster Olive Garden Chick-Fil-A Bear Rock Special Thanks: Michelle Lennon Christie Canfield Penny Leigh Pamela Manaton Michelle Baker Phil Guidry Town and Country Animal Care Center (for use of their agility equipment) |
