September 9, 2017 Raleigh, NC The AKC’s Responsible Dog Owner Days (RDO Days) occurs every year and this is the AKC’s flagship event around the country.  Our club was incredibly well represented at this year’s event.  We participated with a “Meet the Breed” booth and in the Parade of Breeds.  Overall it was a fun filled and very busy day for all involved.

 We had five club members and four dogs work their tails off this year at the event.  Rick and Joyce Prapuolenis were there with their beautiful youngsters, Pele and Dinah.  Sharon and Wayne Thompson were there with the stylish Ghost.  And of course I was there with my “little” girl Andi.  My sincere appreciate for all the help and the long and warm hours that everyone put in to make our booth so successful!

We set up our booth with our club banner and a whole lot of photos of the furry club members along the wall as a backdrop.  Each of the two tables held photos, literature about the breed, grooming tools as a display, and of course our “flock” of stuffies which the pups worked to guard all day long.

The Parade of Breeds occurred outside and each of the Working Group Breeds were introduced to the crowd and a brief description of the breed is read to the crowd.  During the day, we met hundreds of visitors that asked about the Pyrs, shared their own experiences and in a few cases, showed up with their own Pyrs, surprised to find a club that is all about this wonderful breed. 

This event serves to fulfill our club’s public educational requirement that we must do each year, but it is so much more than just a requirement.  We were able to talk to other Pyr and Pyr-mix owners and share insights about the breed’s health, grooming, behavior and feeding.  So many youngsters, and some not-so-youngsters were continuously amazed at the beautiful fur and gentle disposition of our ambassadors.  This was a fantastic opportunity to reach other Pyr enthusiasts and to let so many people know about and meet our Pyr’s-the breed we all love so much!