🐶 My Shaggy Dog

I don't like shaggy dog stories, it's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.

A few years ago, I got to thinking it was pretty quiet around the house and decided to head over to the local animal shelter and see if there might be a dog or cat to adopt. I found a puppy that looked promising, so I filled out the paperwork, paid the fee and took him home. As the puppy grew, I realized that he was getting to be just about the shaggiest little guy I had ever seen so I named him Harry.

I saw a notice on the supermarket bulletin board that there was going to be a neighborhood shaggy dog contest so of course I had to enter.

There were quite a few shaggy dogs at the contest but I was pretty sure my dog would at least get an honorable mention. There were 3 judges at the contest and I waited patiently for them to get around to my us..

The first judge looked at Harry and said, “That’s a really shaggy dog”.

The second judge nodded and said, “That sure is a shaggy dog”.

The third judge smiled and said, “That is just about the shaggiest dog I’ve ever seen”.

Harry won the blue ribbon.

A couple of months later I saw in the newspaper that there was to be a city-wide shaggy dog contest. Of course, I had to enter Harry.

There were close to 50 dogs entered in the city-wide shaggy dog contest but I thought surely we had a chance at a prize. There were 4 judges at the contest and they finally got around to Harry.

The first judge looked at Harry and said, “That’s a really shaggy dog”.

The second judge nodded and said, “That sure is a shaggy dog”.

The third judge ran his fingers through Harry’s coat and said, “That’s an incredibly shaggy dog”.

The fourth judge smiled and said, “That is just about the shaggiest dog I’ve ever seen”.

Harry won first place.

A year or so went by and I got an email from a friend telling me there was going to be a state wide shaggy dog contest at the state fair. I immediately sent in my application and on contest day I packed up Harry and off we went.

There had to be at least 100 shaggy dogs it the state fair and I worried that maybe this time we were over-matched. I nervously waited for the 6 judges to get to us.

The first judge looked at Harry and said, “That’s a really shaggy dog”.

The second judge nodded and said, “That sure is a shaggy dog”.

The third judge ran his fingers through Harry’s coat and said, “That’s an incredibly shaggy dog”.

The fourth judge adjusted his glasses and said, “That is most definitely a very shaggy dog”.

The fifth judge smiled and said, “That is just about the shaggiest dog I’ve ever seen”.

Along with the blue ribbon Harry was given an invitation to the national shaggy dog contest to be held in Washington DC.

The following month, Harry and I were in the nation’s capital surround by what had to be at least 200 shaggy dogs of all sizes and colors. I was really anxious about our chances this time because many of the competitors were really shaggy. The 6 judges were very serious looking and I just knew this was going to be the end of our contest run.

The first judge looked at Harry and said, “That’s a really shaggy dog”.

The second judge nodded and said, “That sure is a shaggy dog”.

The third judge ran his fingers through Harry’s coat and said, “That’s an incredibly shaggy dog”.

The fourth judge adjusted his glasses and said, “That is most definitely a very shaggy dog”.

The fifth judge fluffed up Harry’s fur and bent to examine it carefully then said, “I am truly impressed with the shagginess of this dog”.

The sixth judge smiled and said, “That is just surely the shaggiest dog I’ve ever seen”.

I couldn’t hide my happiness when Harry took home the first-place trophy along with a year supply of kibble. To celebrate I bought him the best ribeye steak at could find at the butcher shop.

Just after Christmas I received an important looking letter from Paris, France. I opened it to find an engraved invitation to enter Harry in the world-wide shaggy dog contest to be held on Champs-Elysee the following May. Of course I had to enter.

The spring weather in Paris was wonderful as I registered Harry and took him into the judging area. There were shaggy dogs everywhere. Far too many to count. I watched apprehensively as the team of 7 judges made there way around the area. They were a very distinguished looking group. Each wore a sash identifying their home country. When they arrived at our booth, they completely ignored me and focused all their attention on Harry.

The first judge was British. After examining Harry he said, “That is a really shaggy dog”.

The second judge was from Spain. He looked Harry up and down and said, “That sure is a shaggy dog”.

The third judge from Italy. He nodded slowly and said, “I agree, that is a shaggy dog.”

The fourth judge was from Belgium. He peered seriously over his glasses and said, “Yes, that is most assuredly a very shaggy dog.”

The fifth judge was from Germany. He was very meticulous about his inspection of Harry but finally declared, “This dog is incredibly shaggy.”

The sixth judge was from Norway. He smiled and said, “This is surely the shaggiest dog I’ve seen today.”

The seventh judge, a very sophisticated and important looking woman from France ran her finger through Harry’s coat, stepped back and declared, “Eh, he’s not so shaggy.”

 

 

 

Author: RickW777 / Image: ©Igor Zakowski