Big dog events are often unsettling to me; the Specialty was no exception.
Capella
Being with my friends and making new ones — amazing and so needed.
Taking my RV was the only way I could go as my concerns about Covid would not have allowed me to stay in a hotel. I loved being next door to Jay and Suzanne, and close to Jasen and others. Being part of the RV Community at a dog event is something special.
And yet, with no car I was pretty well trapped and dependent. I missed agility because I did not have my own vehicle. Bummer. I could not go anyplace — like the National park that was minutes away — or Starbucks or a grocery store. On the bright side — I got a lot of exercise walking all over the place!
I am so grateful to Lori S. who saved the day several times — and to Suzanne, who lent me her van to get to/from the draft test when the weather was so awful. In the future, I would only take the RV to Specialties where a car was also an option; there were no rental car places in Estes Park.
The Covid requirements were, to be blunt, treated more as suggestions. Most people did their best to comply but not all. In one photo I took for the newsletter — and did not publish for obvious reasons — five of the 14 people sitting in the front row of the breed ring were not masked (nor were they eating or drinking).
I queried people who were not wearing masks — most simply forgot. I get it. We are human and goof up — this includes me.
One person claimed her mask was too loose to wear as anything but a Chin Diaper and so I got her a new one. She threw it on the floor and told me to Fuck Off and mind my own business. Yep. That really happened. In front of a bunch of us so no chance of a misunderstanding.
Somehow the consequences of all that seemed to land more on me than her — I am still trying to sort all that out, and decide how to feel about it all.
Unsettling.
And still — I am so glad I went! I am so glad I saw my friends and all the beautiful dogs. I loved meeting the Bright Stars’ dad, Ferguson, and his humans. I loved cheering for the Moonshadow Daddy, Pippin, who also had a grand week; it was his (and his humans) first Specialty! I loved seeing Lori’s daughter, Katie, and baking scones for her in my RV’s Easy-Bake Oven (remember those?!). Patrick Green showed up! And so on — I could never list all the amazing high points of the week because there were so many.
AND…
I am unsettled by it all, and questioning things about myself and others. Am I too rule-bound? Why is fairness so important to me? What should I think of people who have different ways of operating in the world — ways I find objectionable? How can we support diversity of thought — and still live our values? What, if any, responsibility do we have to the public welfare and/or public health? Was I wrong to hand over a properly fitting mask to someone who was violating the rules because — she claimed — her mask was too loose?
The questioning is normal for me, and I think it is good — but yes, it is unsettling. Hence my silence over the past few days. I am percolating and processing — unpacking in more ways than one.