Comments on: 2009 Meet the Breeds Wrap Up

By: cheri and oakley

cheri and oakley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:36:38 +0000

hey jenna!
your site and the meet the breed event look great!! sorry i missed it! i was just working on my website and your name popped up…it’s been a while! i hope all is well for you and snickers! you both look wonderful! i have had my nose to the grindstone with soups and have had very little time to work on dog food yet i get at least two phone calls a week asking how someone can get it! LOL!! i need 24 more hours to a day to do it all! biz is tough these days! and i’m exhausted!
would love to hear how you and snickers are doing and what you’re up to these days!
my best to you both!
cheri and oakley

By: jenna

jenna — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:40:22 +0000

Thanks for the offer Rae. I had plenty of people during the event, almost too many really, in the booth. I could have used more dogs. And some help setting up and breaking down before and after the event would have been nice. I’ll let you know next time I’m planning one if I need more help!

By: Rae

Rae — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:03:23 +0000

Jenna, if you let me know about this event a month ahead and let me know how to get there/time etc., I can come and HELP!!! My two shibas wouldn’t be able to handle the crowd, though I’d be able to help in many ways with people and the shibas that are there…

By: jenna

jenna — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:02:06 +0000

That is a good idea! I have to figure out a way to do that.

By: jenna

jenna — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:01:12 +0000

My guess would be that only about 5 to 10% of dogs could handle this kind of event. It’s really tough on them. Not only is it tiring, but there are plenty of unpredictable people – little kids who jump on them and pull their ears, people in wheelchairs, etc. This was definitely the toughest event (for dogs) that Snick and I have ever attended.

By: jenna

jenna — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:56:47 +0000

Snick and I have done a few of those fairs, both small and large, with NYCSR and it seems that the success of the event is dependent on the marketing of the overall event and, of course, the weather. I’m beginning to wonder if they’re really even worth the time and effort. When you think of everything that goes into it and the little bit you get out of it… I’m going to be a lot pickier about which ones we do going forward. The real win at fairs like that is the getting volunteer and foster applications. You’ll seldom make enough in donations to make it worth it.

Your “gameplan” made me laugh… I usually do that too, even including lunch breaks in the schedule. Since this was a shorter event (10a-5p for 2 days) and I had so many people coming, I didn’t feel it was necessary. THAT is why I forgot to schedule set up and breakdown people – because I didn’t have a written schedule! I didn’t realize that was why until I read your comment.

By: Sukoshi's Mom

Sukoshi's Mom — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:24:23 +0000

Thanks for a great write-up! I like your booth design.

Our meetup did a “dog fair” in September. We hoped to get $$ for rescue, but didn’t have much luck. I think the economy has had a negative impact on donations for all sorts of groups. But we did have a fair amount of interest in Shibas and several people came by our booth who were already familiar with Shibas or who were looking for Shibas. Our handouts:
*Shiba Fanciers of Northern California trifold on Shibas
*Short Shiba profile from a rescue
*Shiba resources list for Northern CA and NV
*Info on what to expect from a “rescued dog”

I had drafted up a “gameplan” for the event that showed who had which shifts and the dogs, who was bringing what material, who would help with set-up/breakdown, etc.
The table was decorated with Shiba related cups, figurines, etc. We had 2-3 Shibas per shift. (The entire fair ran from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)

I put out a copy of the book that Julie MacTire (The Misanthropic Shiba blog) and I put together about Shibas: Tiny Little Shibas:Dreams (available thru Lulu, Amazon, Barnes and Noble). Julie illustrated the book and I wrote the stories. We designed it specifically as a fundraising resource for Shiba Clubs and Rescues. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any donations for the book at the dog fair…

We had an ex-pen in case the dogs needed space, but we didn’t use it. I didn’t bring my Shiba because one person needed to be available to do the table while others “talked Shiba” with their dogs and fair attendees.

This was an outdoor event and the weather wasn’t great — strong winds most of the day — which made it interesting. The canopy for the booth occasionally threatened to lift off and all the handouts had to be weighted down.

By: thepaisleyfox

thepaisleyfox — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:16 +0000

This sounded awesome. I would have loved to go if we were closer, but I can only hope that Texas does something like this, too. I’d love to volunteer, or at least visit. Though Koji loves meeting people, I’m not sure he would be up to the task of entertaining large crowds quite yet (he’s still a little excited at inside places not home, but getting better), but I’d love to go with or without him.

Also, I would have totally helped set up and tear down, that’s usually what I’m stuck with so I just plan for it now.

By: Lynda

Lynda — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:47:04 +0000

It might be interesting for you to get together with volunteers from other breed booths to see what their experiences were, and the things that they learned that might be useful next year. Perhaps (yet another!) a yahoogroups list?