Dear Action Line: A recent news item from a neighboring city notes that the Durango Kennel Club is hosting its annual dog show in Farmington. Why not hold the event in the namesake hometown? Or is Durango in the doghouse with the kennel club? Or is a dog show not sustainable tourism? Also ironic is that dog-show attendees are asked to leave their dogs at home. – Kay Nine
Dear Kay: Thank you for asking a question about dogs that did not include the word “poop” or “bag” in it.
The Durango Kennel Club, or DKC, has been around a while. As well as hosting the annual show, some of its members offer training classes, and you’ll find classes posted on the club’s website, durangokennelclub.com. As we know, the training is as much or more about training the human, so be prepared to learn.
Now, on with the show.
Barbara Schwartz, DKC president, reported that the May 19-22 show at McGee Park at the San Juan County Fairgrounds in Farmington went well. Yeah, so why Farmington?
The DKC once held its annual show at the Fort Lewis College softball complex or the La Plata County Fairgrounds. That was between 1987 and 1997. Then it moved to the Montezuma County Fairgrounds in Cortez from 1998 through 2016, when the American Kennel Club-sanctioned event moved to McGee.
“While I do not know why the shows moved from Durango to Cortez, I do know about the decision to go to Farmington,” Schwartz said.
The number of entries had dwindled to a financially unsustainable level; with the move to Farmington, the number of dogs nearly doubled. The show there gets a big boost from being closer to Albuquerque, where a show is scheduled the weekend before the Farmington event.
More factors: McGee has an indoor, air-conditioned venue; also, lodging is just a bit pricier in Durango. Just a bit. Action Line’s in-depth, well-researched, two-minute study of one motel chain shows it’s $59 a night in Farmington (Bloomfield), $99 in Cortez, and $140 (ouch!) in Durango.
Although Farmington may not have the newfangled sustainable tourism that Durango does, the lodging prices are “a huge positive for both exhibitors and housing our judges, who fly in from around the country,” Schwartz said. “The San Juan County Fairgrounds also has numerous RV hookups which is another plus. We would have been thrilled to find such a venue in Durango, but it simply does not exist.”
The DKC serves the Four Corners, with the nearest other AKC-associated groups in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Grand Junction.
The money raised from the annual event has allowed DKC to do such things as help La Plata County purchase a police dog, named Fenix, provide funding to the La Plata County Humane Society for supplies for animals displaced during the 416 Fire in 2018, and more.
Schwartz added that spectators are asked to leave their dogs at home for safety reasons. Dogs entered in AKC events adhere to health recommendations and can be disciplined if they pick a fight.
“Un-entered dogs are not subject to these concerns, and we have therefore elected to ask them to stay at home,” Schwartz said.
(Psst: Hey cats, she didn’t say anything about you …)
Loyal reader Richard Ruth wrote in with a potentially helpful hint. Several weeks ago, an Action Line item gave advice about removing the expired yearly decals off license plates, which is technically required by law. A razor blade often works, and La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee recommended something called Goo Gone if a razor doesn’t do the trick.
From Ruth: “Last March, Action Line had a story about the difficulty of removing expiring year stickers to install new ones. The old stickers are almost impossible to remove unless heated with an ordinary hair dryer. Then, they are easy to remove with only fingernails. However, don’t use a heat gun. Those things will also remove the paint from the license plate.”
So, choose your weapon, pick your poison, try the whole ball of wax, or create your own cliché. And good luck.
Full disclosure: Action Line made up that part about Ruth being a loyal reader, but it could be true.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Our sweet dog Buda, who died in 2021, was head of her DKC training class, but chose not to continue with training and never entered an AKC show.
