Meet the Breeds is special event to my family. Four years ago, it was the dog and cat show’s first year and the first for us too, although my son didn’t get to see anything since he was a fetus. The next year he was nine months old, and the event prompted us to finally get a forward-facing stroller–a $20 umbrella model that we still use occasionally when our main ride is too big to take.
The show last weekend didn’t disappoint. The dogs were aplenty and there seemed to be a little more space this year to move around the Javits Center (it’s always wise to get there at the beginning). We started with the Labrador retrievers, since they are probably the most popular breed among people who are not Westminster judges.
A chocolate lab came up to my son, now almost 3, and licked him, mostly to his delight.
The event, organized by the American Kennel Club and the International Cat Association, includes booths for most dogs and cats.
Naturally, there is much more access to the dogs. The people at every booth are like ambassadors for their breed, always saying that their breed is great with children. While in some cases I’m sure they are exaggerating, it’s true that the dogs at the event are well-trained and can handle the excesses of small children.
I’ll never forget my son’s first year, when he started crawling next to a St. Bernard three times his size. “ Don’t worry he’s gentle,” the owner told me,” to which I replied, “that’s good because my son’s not.” Fortunately the dog didn’t get his ears or tail pulled and we didn’t test his limits.
While I suppose there may be a few people who actually come primarily to see the cats, I can’t imagine why. This comes from someone who’s owned cats for most of his life and who has never owned a dog. Whatever their merits, cats can’t deliver the way a dog can at a show like this.
The dog booths and performance space dominate the Javits floor. And yes, there is even a small performance space where trainers coax cats to jump through hoops, but there’s a reason why “like herding cats” is a cliché.
Meet the Breeds is a dog love dog world.
