Boatyard Dogs Extravaganza

This weekend, I had an opportunity to cover Rockland's eighth annual Boatyard Dogs competition, as part of the Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors show. Things were already hopping when I arrived Sunday morning, with vendors selling anything and everything a boat lover could ever use - and plenty of non-nautically-themed items, as well. Good food, boat rides in the Rockland harbor, book signings, and even an instrumental quartet to serenade passersby.

In amongst all of this action and revelry there were, naturally, plenty of dogged happenings. The Humane Society of Knox County and Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League were both well-represented, with booths featuring adoptable dogs and kittens. Walker and Price were the two HSKC dogs, a couple of big, goofy dolls who charmed everyone in their paths. Walker just completed training through K-9 Corrections, a program in which prison inmates work one-on-one with shelter dogs to teach basic obedience skills in order to make the dogs more adoptable. It's a great program, run by obedience trainer (and my former mentor) Marie Finnegan, through HSKC. Here's a shot of Walker and Price wrestling in the middle of foot traffic during the Boats, Homes and Harbors show:

Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League's booth was swamped all the livelong day, as they were clever enough to bring along two of the fuzziest, most squeezably soft kittens to ever grace the planet. Both rescues raised much-needed funds and awareness for their stellar programs.

Here are a few other pics from the great event. You can read all about the Boatyard Dog Trials in the next issue of Downeast Dog News, hitting the 'Net (and Maine news stands) on September 1.


Two-Time Boatyard Dog champ Pancho Villa


Crowd fave Scout Tucker shakes off the water with his retrieving wunderkind, Lyla


Hazel the senior black Lab sits patiently through a lecture during the Trials