Dog Show To Take Over Frisco Stage

ROGERS — Dogs of all sizes and breeds will get the chance to strut their stuff Friday at the third annual City of Rogers Dog Show while raising money for the Rogers Animal Shelter.

“The show gets bigger every year,” said Angela Brewer, city human resources director, dog lover and chairwoman of the event.

More dog owners are preregistered to participate this year than previously, Brewer said. Early registration has run 10 to 14 dogs, but more than 20 were preregistered as of Monday.

“We usually have between 40 and 50 owners, and dogs show up the day of the show. We think this is going to be our best show so far,” Brewer said.

The cost to early register is $8; registration is $10 Friday beginning at 5 p.m. The show starts at 6 p.m.

Dogs will be judged in nine categories, with one dog selected best in show, Brewer said.

Categories include cutest dog, biggest dog, cutest puppy, best senior dog and best dog tail. Owners of first- and second-place dogs in each category will receive a gift basket valued at more than $200, Brewer said.

“This is a fun event for the whole family. We feel like every dog is a winner and it’s for a good cause,” Brewer said.

Last year the show raised about $1,000, after expenses, for the city’s shelter.

At A Glance

Dog Show

The third annual City of Rogers Dog Show is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday on Frisco Stage near the intersection of First and Elm streets. Dogs will be judged in nine categories, with first through third place receiving awards. Contact Angela Brewer at 479-271-1117 for more information. The categories are:

• Best trick

• Cute as button (small dogs)

• Best physically challenged

• Cutest puppy

• Best costume

• Irresistible ears

• Who’s the biggest (large dogs)

• Dog tail

• Best of show

Source: Staff Report

“Our hope is we can raise at least that much this year, but we’ll be happy with whatever amount we raise,” Brewer said.

The show and the money raised is a blessing, said Bud Norman, shelter manager. Money raised last year helped with several things, including building additional outdoor pens.

“The show helps in a number of ways besides money. It creates awareness of the shelter, gets more animals adopted and the money raised helps us do projects we couldn’t do with our budget,” Norman said.

The shelter will have five spayed or neutered dogs available for adoption at the show.

“Last year, two of the dogs were adopted during the show. Because of awareness raised during the show, within a week the other dogs (shown) were adopted as well,” Norman said.

The animal shelter, which also serves the city of Bentonville, is always filled to capacity, Norman said.

“We are busting at the seams, but we try to find homes for the animals rather than euthanize them. Our euthanization rate continues to drop because we do everything humanly possible to find dogs and cats good homes,” Norman said.

Brigitta Causey, a Lowell pet groomer, is a volunteer helping with the show. She said she heard so many good things about last year’s show, she felt she had to be part of this year’s event.

“We’ll be out there Friday talking to people about the importance of having pets spayed and neutered, dental care for pets, dealing with fleas and ticks and handing out treat bags with shampoo, conditioner and treats for dogs. We will be trying to educate people how to keep their animals happy and healthy,” Causey said.

Janice Johnson, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Agility Group, said this will be her first time to volunteer for the dog show.

“We recently moved to Arkansas from Texas. I heard about how great the dog show was last year and I decided to volunteer this year,” Johnson said. “As dog trainers we love animals and this just seemed to be something we needed to do.”

Upcoming Events