– AKC Meet the Breeds® to Return to New York City –
This November 19th and 20th, AKC Meet the Breeds® will return to New York City for its third spectacular year at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Sponsored by PetPartners, Inc., Your Partner in Pet Health Care®, AKC Meet the Breeds® is one of our largest public outreach opportunities of the year. During last year’s record-setting event, more than 39,000 people attended and we achieved more than 700 million media and ad impressions.
This year, we have a bigger space – 160,000 square feet – where we hope to welcome an even larger crowd of dog and cat lovers. We will also be joined by our new partner, The International Cat Association (TICA), the world’s largest genetic registry of purebred cats. In addition to our 160 dog breeds, TICA will showcase 50 breeds of cat ranging from the Bengal, appearing this year at AKC Meet the Breeds® for the first time, and the Toyger, a “mini” tiger with the sweet nature of the domestic cat, to the Peterbald and Pixiebob.
The larger space will also help us accommodate enhanced breed booths and more dog and cat activities, favorites as well as new events. The current lineup of activities includes demonstrations of agility, obedience and rally, Frisbee Disc Dogs, and flyball. We’ll see Beagles, Belgian Malinois and other breeds of United States Custom and Border Protection show off their skills at detecting narcotics in suitcases and boxes. Border terriers and dachshunds will race through an above-ground, see-through tunnel in the Earthdog demo, and United States Police Canine Association Officers and their K-9 partners will apprehend suspects in a demonstration of the dogs’ masterful obedience and agility skills.
Not to be outdone, the cats will also run an agility course plus participate in a cat fashion show. Last year’s Chiquita Banana cat and Scarlett O’Haira were big crowd pleasers.
We’ll also have more than 100 dog and cat vendors, including Music My Pet, which will showcase classical music specifically created to calm pets; LG Electronics USA, which features a line of special vacuums for pet owners – great for the coated breeds in attendance; and the Fine Arf collection, the finest silver dog jewelry for people.
Thank you to the many parent clubs that have already signed up to participate. Your support over the past two years has been instrumental in making this event a tremendous success. If you are a parent club that has not signed up yet, we encourage you to do so soon! You’ll want to be included in the ever-suspenseful breed booth contest. Last year, we saw “Toto,” the Cairn Terrier, and friends recreate the Wizard of Oz, while the Queen of England and her Pembroke Welsh Corgis garnered Best Breed Booth in Show. We look forward to this year’s surprises! For more information about breed booths, please contact Gina DiNardo at gml@akc.orgor 212-696-8350.
The public truly enjoys seeing breeds ranging from family favorites to dogs they’ve never seen before. This is a wonderful opportunity for our parent clubs to educate the public about their breeds and responsible dog ownership.
For more information, go to www.meetthebreeds.com. Please invite your family and friends, and we look forward to seeing you there! For the latest updates, bookmark the website or follow us on Facebook andTwitter.
Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman