Fair brings ‘Tail Wagging’ fun for all
Husky, miniature poodle take champion spots in Lions Club contest
There was lots of tail wagging going on Saturday afternoon at the Logan County Fair as the Sterling Lions Club hosted its annual Friendly Dogs ‘Tail Wagging’ Contest in the pavilion.
This popular event was begun over 50 years ago, with the idea coming from former county agent and Lion Jim Read. The contest is open to all dogs.
While one of the dogs this year, an Auggie ( Australian shepard and Corgi mix), technically didn’t have a tail, that doesn’t disqualify him, it’s merely considered a handicap and it was obvious how much the dog would be wagging its tail if he had one.
Judging the dogs based on speed, enthusiasm and sincerity of tail wagging were 2022 Miss Rodeo Logan County Tobi- Beth Erickson, 2022 Miss Rodeo Sweetheart Rylee Raffelson and Lions Dianne Budin and Jodie Harless.
There were two divisions based on the age of the handler, juniors age 12 and under and seniors age 13 and over. Both divisions had nine entries this year.
Dogs vying for the top prize came in all sizes; there were larger breeds including a Saint Bernard, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and even a pit bull/ standard poodle mix all the way down to a tiny Shih Tzu.
As competitors were called they slowly led their dogs around the ring to visit each judge. Most of the dogs were excited to see the judges, putting their full tail wag on display and some even tried to bribe the judges with a kiss.
With so many friendly faces and excited tail wags going on, the competition was a close one and a “wag off” was even needed to determine first and second and third and fourth places in the junior division.
Ultimately, the grand champion award in the junior division went to Nova, a Husky shown by Brodie
and after the “wag off,” for the second year in a row reserve champion went to Duster, a German Wirehaired Pointer shown by Braya Kailey. In third place was Gage, a German Shorthaired Pointer shown by Adelyn Beeson and fourth place went to Lucy, a Border Collie shown by Delaney.
In the senior division, no “wag off” was required. Tootsie Grace, a miniature poodle shown by Katherine Donahue stole the show with a perfect score. Donahue noted last year Tootsie wasn’t in a tailwagging mood, but this year she had no problem showing off her wag.
For the second year in a row reserve champion went to Max, a mutt shown by Dave Greeno, while Reno, a lab mix, shown by Kenny Alderson took third place and Remi, the Auggie shown by James, came in fourth.