There's No Business Like (Dog) Show Business!

Here's a photo of me with my first dog, Zero Amy at the 1968 "Girl Scout-a-Bout" held on the football field of Highlands High School. There was a dog show and Zero won first place in the costume division dressed as a bumble bee. My mother, the Edith Head of Sterling Avenue designed the costume that featured net wings, a yellow tutu and pipe cleaner antenna. If you look really close, you can even see a little stinger sticking up above her tail. (My Mother has always been a stick-ler for detail!)

This was our second foray into dog show-dom that summer and we were feeling pretty unstoppable. (Sort of like Taylor Swift must about now.) And who could blame us? After all, we were coming off the heady experience of taking first prize in the costume division, then going all the way to "Best in Show" at the Ken-L-Ration Kid's Dog Show in the parking lot of Kroger in Fort Thomas.

That win came complete with a blue ribbon, trophy and the right to represent the Fort Thomas Kroger at the regional Ken-L-Ration Kid's Dog Show competition at Coney Island. That meant that Zero got to go to Coney Island with my Mother, Dad and me. Actually (as we are fond of saying), Zero took us to Coney Island. Now, being a dog and all, she couldn't ride the rides, but they did let her into the park. That was a really big novelty!

*Now, I'm digressing, but since this is my blog and I can write what I want, let me ask you this: Do you remember when you were a kid and a dog would somehow get into the school and run around? It was a really big deal...at least at Robert D. Johnson Grade School. We thought it was the coolest thing ever. The dog would dart into the classroom with the janitor chasing behind. We would laugh and cheer and stomp our feet like the audience on American Idol. But, why was this? It wasn't as though none of us had ever seen a dog before. Most of us had one or two waiting for us at home. But a dog in school... WOW! Now, that...that was just out of context enough to have us buzzing for the rest of the day.*

Back to Coney Island...

Zero didn't win at the "Bigs." My 6 year old self was kind of miffed about it, but from where I sit the whole thing was a success because it is one my my most prized memories.

And guess what? I was just invited to emcee the "Furry Fort Thomas" dog show sponsored by the Campbell County Public Library Carrico/Ft. Thomas Branch this Sunday, June 6 from 2-4 p.m. Ryan Stacy, the Adult Services Librarian who asked me, said that there will be four categories: "Best Looking," "Best Trick," "Most Obedient" and "Best Dressed."

My life has come full-circle!