We know the coronavirus is a thing, and she’s here to ruining our plans for the near future. Well, the weekend before spring break technically started, I was going to a dog show. I had to wait for a ride, so I was in my dorm room all day Friday. I was the last of all my friends to leave San Marcos because, for a while, I didn’t know if I had a ride to the dog show or home. I woke up Friday with the plan of a handler who goes to Texas State, driving me to the show in Navasota, Texas. She texted me an hour after 8 that friday morning saying she wasn’t going anymore because of all the “coronavirus stuff” going on.
After that phone call, I had no plan and no idea how I was going to get to my parents.
I was pacing around all morning, calling anyone I could. Everyone at that point had no idea if the show in Navasota was happening at all. Because a big show in Louisville, Kentucky, was canceled after only two of the five days of showing was completed.
Needless to say, everyone was stressed. Everyone was waiting to drive down to the show until the Navasota local government announced that it was okay for us to have a dog show. I finally got a ride and would be leaving San Marcos at 5 that Friday evening.
I arrived at the show complex at 9 that night. There were several great handlers there besides my parents. One of which, who is a family friend, being Clint Livingston.
“You guys know I live in Colorado. Normally I would stay down here for the next three weeks going to shows and visit my parents, but with all of this going on I don’t think I’m going to stay. Next weekend has already been canceled, and my parents are in the age group that is a high risk, so I’m going to drive home while I can.”
Clint Livingston
He also began talking about how if shows continued to canceled, he wouldn’t be able to keep all four assistants that he has. For a vast majority of dog handlers shows are their only source of income to the thought of shows being canceled for the next 4 months was scary. All weekend you could hear everyone talking about how another show had canceled and that no one knew where to go or what to do.
The American Kennel Club web page had already begun posting all the show cancellations. This put more people into a panic because, as of that weekend, there were no shows through May. That would be two months without pay for many handlers. This is going to be a trying time for our sport, but we have to stick together and wash our hands.
AKC Event Cancellations
After we were finally done on Sunday, my parents and I began the five-hour drive home stopping at any grocery store we could to get what they had left because we didn’t have all the essential cleaning supplies we use every day in the kennel. Mrs. Rona really made everyone scared and little irrational.
Taylor's Dog Show Life 