A young Sheltie shows off his agility at the All Breeds Championship Show. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Special events

The dog days of summer return to Prince Albert

Aug 31, 2021 | 5:00 PM

The lifting of restrictions last month has been a real treat for all athletes, who have spent the past 18 months begging for a chance to return to their passions.

For the next three days, the Prince Albert Kennel Club is hosting an all breeds championship show at the exhibition grounds. Over 110 breeds from across Saskatchewan, B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba, have come to strut their stuff. Club President Liana Maloney said she received a great response when she contacted the breeders to tell them about the show.

“Some breeds we don’t always see here so it’s kind of interesting,” she said. “We are just really pleased to be able to have a show.”

The kennel club was scheduled to have its last show in March, 2020, but then as a result of the pandemic, the event was cancelled. Len Rogers from Biggar has been training dogs for over 30 years, and could not wait to compete.

“This is what we have been waiting for …to get back into the ring and show what we have,” he said.

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Lining up for the judge. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Darlene Kelly and her papillon “Jemma” drove from Manitoba. She explained the past 18 months have been very difficult.

“We had a couple litters born during COVID and it was very difficult to get them socialized and to get them to be able to take them to strange places,” she said.

The four-legged athletes require several hours of pre-show prep. Ian Grey displays his dog Leo. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Both veteran and novice handlers are attending the show this week. Ian Grey and “Leo” from Saskatoon are at their first show.

“We were looking forward to getting shown at the start of the year but with the pandemic, we weren’t able to, so now we are older and hopefully a bit wiser and looking forward to it,” he said.

The competition this week runs until Thursday, and is free to attend.

Walking the walk. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell