The Del Monte Kennel Club was proud to host the Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast on Sunday, December 14th from 9:00 am - 11:30 am. This was our pilot for the AKC Patch program, as part of the AKC Public Education department. It was quite a successful day with many smiles all around. We had a couple of troop leaders come through with about a dozen children (most of them girls scouts, but we had a couple of cub scouts in the group).
We started off with our orientation with the important dog show etiquette checklist. We then asked them about the dogs they were excited to see! There were MANY fun responses. We showed them how to read the judging program, and where to find ring numbers. They enjoyed watching BPUP as well as Junior showmanship. My helper (and AKC junior handler daughter, Audrey Boyer, 16) gave them a demonstration and she let the kids, one at a time take her juniors whippet, Juno for a "go around". They had such a great time!!!
We wrapped the day with a tour and viewing of Rally and Obedience and closed with a visit to the Ridgeback ring where a friend with a very friendly Ridgeback came for a meet and greet. They thought feeling the ridge was pretty cool! I will also say it was VERY cool to see some of our exhibitors get in on the fun! Exhibitors with Borzoi, Weims, Pekes, Corgi puppies, and even a Cotton de Tulear came by to share their wonderful show dogs with the children. I will reach out to the Girl Scouts council again to start getting us locked in with these amazing kids and families for next year!