I didn’t plan to spend my Sunday afternoon at the dog show. The soccer game I was assigned to shoot was canceled and I remembered that there was an event at the nearby NC State Fairgrounds called India Fest. Being partial to the smell of curry and the wild colors found in saris, I headed over there. Then I saw a woman in a purple coat walking her dog, a dog with huge black, well, dreadlocks? I had never seen such a dog. Turns out it was the last day of the big regional American Kennel Club dog show. Without giving another thought to Bollywood, I headed next door for the final hours of the show.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. All manner of dogs had been running around an enclosed exhibition center for five days, so accidents were inevitable. But even with an attentive staff of scrappers and scrubbers, the odor of dog poop was prevalent enough to make you wonder if the trash cans should be taken outside. It took a minute to square the objectionable odor with the sight of well-dressed dog owners running everywhere. Time was running out though. It was the final round of the final day of the show so I made no attempt to clear my being backstage with anyone of authority. In most cases bounding about with a nice camera and a note pad goes without question. This was no acception. With my only reference to such an event being the hilarious Christopher Guest film Best In Show, I went to work.
