Local
Event; Pet Expo.
This is
more of a rant and I'll include the information from the actual
event. I am just very disappointed at what this has turned into.
The even
itself was due to be 3 days, however due to weather the weekend days
were cancelled, we were able to attend the Friday opening.
I'm sure
every place that has an event center hosts a pet expo, or something
similar. These events should be geared towards animals of all kinds
and be fun. We have been going since my youngest was about 3.
When we
first started going the event was housed in just one building and it
was so packed that you could hardly walk. They had a petting zoo and
lots of animals to touch and learn about.
Last year,
2017 it was amazing! They opened it up to two buildings, when you
first walked in you were where they did all the dog shows (Pier Dogs,
Police Dog Demo and so forth) they also added a grooming competition.
Walking to the next building you went through the petting zoo and
farm animals, then when you got into the next building all the booths
were there, lined up nicely so that you could walk down the isles and
shop, you could also bring your own pets, which was awesome!
This year I
had won 4 tickets for the Pet Expo from our local radio station. We
had decided to again go on a Friday since it's slower and less
people, right after all the kids were home from school. First, the
radio station only gave me 2 tickets, my bad for not checking the
envelope first, then we get there, walk in as normal, we see the pool
for the Pier Dogs and the agility course set up. There is one booth
of Western Gear there. We turn to walk down to the petting zoo only
to find it's the dog grooming competition. Ok, maybe it's in another
part. The second building are booths. The first one we encounter is
teeth whitening, next to them is a chiropracter. Why?! What is the
point of either of these being at a pet expo! The chiropracter was
for humans, not animals, if it were for animals I could understand.
We get in
and there are all the booths along with the K9 area for the police
dog demo.
Well, ok,
we will shop and check out all the rescues. Some of the booths
shouldn't be here, gutters?! Essential Oils, most of which are
hazardous for animals. A dip booth, yes, chips and dips. I don't get
it. When we finally get to the back, still no petting area, a group
would come and take pictures for you with animals, they would sell
them, we always did it. It was awesome!
Needless to
say, we left disappointed. We wasted time and money. Yes, it was nice
to see all the rescues and play there fun games (well for the kids)
but that's it. The kids were bored as was I.
I do
understand that they expo center can't help who signs up and who
doesn't, but why the grooming competition? You turned a family fun
event into a snobby dog owner event, which is not what it should be.
I'm not
sure if we will go next year, or even attempt it based on the
disappointment of this year. Here is the list of vendors we
encountered and my thoughts;
Vendors
that belonged at a Pet Expo.
Rescues;
Akita
Rescue and Rehabilitation of WI.
Almost Home
Kitty Rescue.
Bailing out
Benji.
Brew City
Bully Club.
Chesapeake
Retriever Rescue of WI. Didn't see them
Fox River
Valley Cat Club-Didn't see this one either
Golden
Retriever Rescue of WI
Great
Pyrenees Rescue-This dogs are huge and fluffy!
Happily
Ever After Sanctuary
Helping
Paws Pet Sanctuary
Lucky 7 Dog
Rescue
Mit Liebe
GSD Rescue
Rat Terrier
ResQ
Roseberry
Bird Rescue
Safe Haven
Humane Society & Outreach Center
White Paws
German Shepherd
WI German
Shorthair Pointer Rescue
WI Humane
Society of GB Campus
Pet
Services;
Bark
Busters Home Dog Training
Got you Six
K-9's
K9 Corps
Agility
NEW Pet
Shop
Sassu
Enterprises Pet Therapy
Spunky's
Paw Prints
The Puppy
Up Foundation
Pet
Products;
Annie's
Pooch Pops
Color Pet
Products
CST Antlers
LLC
Dog Watch
of NE WI
Doggy
Prodigy
Fetch
Magazine
Just for
Dogs
Karen's K-9
Pet Care
Kumfy Tailz
Lovin'
Tails
Pawz.pet
Peppy Puppy
Cookie Co
Pet Wants
Premium Dog
Toys
Sweeny's
Outfitters
Wet Nose
Bistro
Wisconsin
Vest-A-D0g
Woof N'
Wear
Yellow Dog
Treats
The
following booths/vendors I'm on the fence about if they should be
allowed at a pet event;
Appleberry
Treasures. This was like a collectors booth. Yes, all their wears
were animals but they were pricey and it was almost craft sale then
pet expo.
Liberty
Mutual-Ok, so pet owners do need insurance and they do need insurance
to also protect their pets, but a whole booth?
State Farm
Events; Same as above
Lake of the
Woods Campground. I get it, but most camp sites allow well behaved
leashed pets, so why is this one any different?
NuKleen
Products. This one is a cleaning supply type company, so I get with
dogs and cats you need to clean up and eliminate odors, but really?
Ambrosius
Studios. A photography booth where they were taking pictures of your
animals.
Giddy UP
Western Wear & Pet Supply
Now in my
opinion the following should have been told “No, sorry this is an
event for and about animals”
One Medical
Center, LLC
A Spice
Above
Advanced
Beauty
InnovationX
Sherwoods
Fabulous Fudge LLC. So maybe this one should have gone up a category.
Silver
State Family Publishers
doTERRA
Essential Oils
Exterior
Custom Solutions
Foxhaven
Embroidery
Peaceful
Valley General Store
Bay Lakes
Eco Water
Central
Waters Distributing
Norwex
Bath Fitter
Creative
Home Technologies
Cutco
Cultery
DeLorey
Chiropractic
Floslink
Foundation
Chiropractic
Fox Wold
Watershed Alliance
Genesis
Construction
LeafFilter-These
people were really bad and pushy!
Thundraland
Home Improvement
US Cellular
Windows of
Wisconsin.
