The most prestigious world canine event, the World Dog Show 2009, began October 8 in Bratislava’s Expo Incheba Fairgrounds, the SITA newswire wrote.
“This year’s World Dog Show will probably be the biggest so far,” Štefan Štefík of the Slovak Kennel Club told a press conference. Through October 11, the Incheba grounds – and maybe all of Bratislava – will change into a unique centre for dog lovers and breeders. Owners have registered about 30,000 dogs for the show. The exhibition will bring several records: 350 dog breeds from 59 countries (36 countries exhibiting for the first time) will compete for titles before 180 judges from 134 countries in 11 indoor arenas and one huge prefab hall.
The most numerous breed is the American Staffordshire Terrier with 291 dogs entered. The most represented state is the Czech Republic with 3,473 registered dogs. About 80,000 visitors are expected to come – not just from Slovakia, but also from all over the world.
Also 200 journalists were accredited. On Sunday, October 11, the winners from previous days will compete for the title of The Best in Show Veteran, The Best in Show Slovak National Breeds, the Best in Show Junior and The Best in Show (total).
In addition to competitions for the most typical and most beautiful example of the breed, there will be competition like obedience, junior handling, agility, demonstrations of police, rescue, and assistance dogs, and dog-dancing.
“The choice of Slovakia as the host of this event is not just a compliment to Slovak breeders and its Kennel Club, but also to the capital and the whole country,” Štefík said for SITA. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
