Owning a dog is not a spectator sport

I was chatting with someone this week who had no idea what a puppy mill was. I guess I take it for granted that everyone knows what a puppy mill is, just like everyone knows what Wal-mart is. It really kind of dawned on me what the true meaning of being a responsible dog owner is. It is continuous education about your dog, and helping in the education of those around you. This would have been a great message for "Responsible Dog Ownership Day" that the AKC sponsors in Sept, but it's better to be late then never, right?

Ok you couch potatoes! October is the mega "Pet Event" month of the year. There are at least 10 events that you can go to with your dog in Northwest Arkansas this year, and those are just the ones I am aware of. Taking your dog to a pet event may sound a little absurd to some of you, but the main reason you should participate in these is that this helps in the continuing education of your dog ownership skills, and may even present an opportunity to help educate those around you, with stories on how you pottie trained your dog, or how you keep them from chewing your slippers. The most comprehensive listing of pet events in NW Arkansas can be located here:
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=jk2nb44v141rb7r29boddrh2u0%40group.calendar.google.com

So, besides the education reason to attend some of these, there is also the fact that these generally help a cause. Many good folks dedicate even more hours to help rescue stray dogs, to keep them from being euthanized, to mobilize legal actions for governments, and to provide enrichment activities for you and your dog. Often proceeds go to help with vet bills for dogs that have been abandoned, food and supplies for no-kill shelters, gas to transport dogs to far off places where there are homes waiting for them. or to cure cancer. I want to cure cancer too! If I can help cure cancer and walk my dog at the same time, gee, thats a no brainer.

Finally, the last reason to attend one of these, is that they are just plain fun. There are often games and goodie bags to take home, you get to mingle with fellow dog lovers, swapping funny stories, making new friends, two and four legged. Dogs need socialization just as much as people do. Events like these help them keep alert, give them something new and exciting to experience, and a new rear end to sniff. I'm sure sniffing the same ole rear ends day after day gets a little old.