Page 68 - ShowSight - September 2020
P. 68

                LIVING THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
 veryone is doing what they E“
need to do to maintain social distancing at dog shows...
the concern is that after
the show, people gather
to go to dinner, enjoying each the other’s company doing all the normal things with the mask off and
Photo Vicki Holloway
Handlers Bruce and Tara Schultz are weathering the Coronavirus crisis in the hills of Encini- tas, California. They are the owners of Alcala County Pet Resort and Camp- Schultz. Like most people, the impact of the Coronavi-
BRUCE & TARA SCHULTZ
 no social distan”
were canceled. Taffe fears some clients may be choosing not to continue to show dogs. To supplement their income, the McFadden’s started grooming on the side. “A lot of people see their dogs as their kids and are willing to spend money on their dogs,” Taffe says. With so many of the grooming shops closed because of Coronavirus, they have had a great opportunity to build up quite a pet clientele. Plus, a couple of litters of puppies have helped. And in those litters they have found hopefuls but, with no dog shows on the hori- zon, they may not be puppies when they see their first dog show. The family is also selling wellness products which have helped supplement their income. In addition, the fam- ily was able to take advantage of government loans.
Taffe shared how amazed she is at what a great job the dog show community has been doing to put on dog shows safely. “Everyone is doing what they need to do to maintain social distancing at dog shows,” she says. “The concern is that after the show, people gather to go to dinner, enjoying each the other’s company doing all the normal things with the mask off and no social distancing.”
On the lighter side, Taffe shared that this has been the best summer in decades. “Being forced to stay home with the new baby has been the best gift ever,” she shares. Taffe never had such a chance to spend such quality time with her own kids as she was always “running the hamster wheel.” Taffe’s goal when she returns to dog shows is to put nine Bests in Show on Bono, her Havanese, giving him a total of 100 Bests in Show.
rus pandemic has had a major impact on their business. To illustrate, the Schultz’s had 100 dogs booked in each of their two kennels when the United States discovered it was in the middle of a pandemic. Only four dogs showed up, because people simply stopped traveling. Luckily for the couple, there was still a demand for grooming which helped to partially offset the decline in boarding and the absence of dog shows. Most of the specials Bruce was showing before the pandemic went home just a couple weeks after all the shows had been cancelled. He is also supplementing his income raising Bloodhounds and Golden Retriever pup- pies. Thus far, the puppies have not seen the show ring, but he works with them daily going to parks, road working and socializing them. Bruce had to lay off ten employees. He was surprised when some of the employees did not want to come back to work because they were receiving more through unemployment than they would make going back to work.
When I asked Bruce when he thought he would be ready for another dog show, he proudly told me that he and Tara had gone to Alaska in July. Bruce’s brother lives in Alaska, so he made it a dog show trip and a family visit. Before trav- eling to Alaska, the couple had to have a Coronavirus test and prove they had tested negative 72 hours before arriv- ing at the Anchorage Airport. As a sign of the times, when boarding the airplane they took extra precautions; wearing long sleeves, latex gloves, a mask, and disinfecting every- thing before sitting in their seats. Not only did the State of Alaska require a Coronavirus test, but so did Bruce’s brother. Arriving in Anchorage, there were two lines at the airport—the Coronavirus-tested line and the quarantine line. Bruce had no idea what happened to the people in the quarantine line, but he was glad he was not in it.
Bruce praised the Alaskan Dog Show Committee’s com- mitment to social distancing. It was certainly a different experience. There were no spectators and all attendees wore masks. When not in the ring, participants returned to their set-ups. Bruce had no problem wearing a mask in the ring because he had experimented with several before picking the right one for him. To his knowledge, not one person complained about the show or wearing a mask.
So, what does Bruce have to show for his harrowing flight to Alaska? Two Reserve Bests in Show, plus five Group placements. Bruce felt the Best in Show lineup con- sisted of high-quality dogs from across the country.
66 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2020
cing.
















































































   66   67   68   69   70