Today was Melton Mowbray Show, where White Lodge had a stall to raise funds for hounds that need homes. Gill and I got there about 11:00, complete with the Beasts, and it was pretty dead due to the fact there were some fairly serious showers. Still, the weather forecast was for it to brighten up around lunch time, and Julie was the voice of optimism, regularly saying it "would brighten up later." - sounded a bit like a chant, but whatever it was it worked, and just after 12 the sun came out with a vegance, as did the crowds.





The White Lodge Stall

The point of the day was a "Meet & Greet"; lots of dogs for people to come and stroke, get them interested, hopefully a donation, and maybe (if they are very interested) a chat about rehoming a hound.

Chief hound was the very handsome Hooch; the only one there that actually did need a home.




The Handsome Hooch

At times the stall got fairly busy, often with people with their own dogs. Understandably, the people most interested in the dogs were those that already have dogs of their own.


Kai & Cassie

For the Beasts, Jack was in his element; all these people to give him a stroke, and loads of dogs to meet - seventh heaven; Kai was OK to start with, but got a bit bored after a while, and went to lie in the tent - he did shift work as and when he could be bothered. The surprise was Monty. If you have been reading BeastBlog from the start you will know that, to say the least, Monty was timid when he arrived. At home he is now fine (read mad Beast), but is never too sure about new places, and has never been confident with other hounds. Not today. A bit whingy to start with, but once he realised we were here for a bit, joined in with gusto and accepted strokes and cuddles from anyone, and checked out any and all dogs he could.


Monty

And the nice thing is that each of them had their admirers, as did all the other beasts. One lad of about 7 when mad for Jack because "Tigers are my favourite animal." - he liked Jack's brindle markings. I have to say Kai probably did best with the teenage girls - they went for his eyes, and Monty pulled the mums 'coz he has that "Please look after me" look. Who needs a flash sports car when you have dogs?




??? & Whinney

The other beast that had loads of admirers was George, and you can see why.


George

The weather meant people had stayed away until midday, but the afternoon was busy and warm - so refreshments were sent for. Now, one of the rules of the show is that you're not allowed to solicit away from your pitch. But I figured if I had three dogs, and just happend to "forget" and have a collecting tin with me while I went for some ice creams, people who wanted to could stop me to "Ahhhh" over the Beasts, and if they then decided to put money in the tin, well, that was them being generous - not me soliciting. It worked.


I Like Ice Cream!

Being on your feet all day is quite tiring work, and both human and Beasts did need a rest during the afternoon. It confirmed my theory that the collective noun for site hounds is "pile".


A Well Earned Rest

It was a long day; we didn't leave the show until gone 7 o'clock, which meant back home well after 8 for us. While waiting to get the cars so we could load up, Claire and Angela explained how they do a two women errection in less than two minutes. A nice offer, but at the end of a long day one that had to be refused. Maybe next time I'll see how the stand goes up.


Inspecting Hooch's Undercarriage

So how did we all do? Not sure yet how much money was collected (quick edit - just over £160 after expenses), but I certainly had three or four people that seemed genuinely interested in rehoming a dog. Of course all you can do is play the numbers game; give out as much information as you can to as many people as you can, and maybe some of them will come back later and offer a home to a hound. Let's hope so.