Friends of Clermont - Special Events and Educational Programs

Saturday, October 21, 2006

(Rain date, October 22, 2006)
11 am – 4 pm
Clermont State Historic Site

Competitions & Cool Prizes Frisbee Catch Talent Contest Beauty Contest (saddest eyes, best smile, most looks like his/her human, cutest mutt, best drooler & more)	Flyball and Agility Demos and Courses Pup Parade – Costumes Optional Dog Jeopardy Dog Photography & Art Gourmet doggie treats
Vendors of dog supplies and Merchandise	Demonstrations by Working Dogs
Mini Makeovers for Dogs Flea Market	Dunkin for Doggies Give-A-Ways
Rescue Groups Adoption, and Cruelty Prevention	Talks on Dog Breeds, Canine Behavior, and Much More!

View the Every Dog Has His Day Schedule of Events

All dogs must be leashed except when competing in enclosed areas. As per Health Department rules, dogs are not allowed in picnic area.

$2 suggested donation. Dogs (it is their day after all) & children are admitted free. A $7 per vehicle fee to the grounds is charged between 11am and 5pm.

On Saturday, October 21, 2006, Clermont State Historic Site will present a special festival just for dogs and the people who love them. The fourth annual “Every Dog Has His Day” will be an event filled with games, shopping, food, and fun for guests with four legs or two.From 11 am until 5 pm dogs their owners will find more than enough to keep them busy, getting pampered, learning about new dog sports, and competing in fun and relaxed contests.

This special event offers the opportunity to get your dog groomed, trained, exercised, happy and pampered all in the same day! Planned events and activities include two scheduled frisbee disc demonstrations with nationally-known competitors Corrine Brewer and her Australian Shepherd Jack. They will also offer tips to get your dog involved in this sport. Flyball demonstrations, hunting demonstrations, dunking for dogs and a milk bone hunt are also scheduled. A talent contest, beauty contest (saddest eyes, looks most like their human, cutest mutt, best smile and others), and a pup parade (costumes optional) will allow you and your dog to personally get in on the action. Prizes will be awarded for frisbee competition, the talent contest and the “beauty contest.” Special doggie give-a-ways and samples of food and treats will be available!

Participating vendors include professionals in animal portraits, dog training, and general canine merchandise. An AKC dog training demonstration will be held by Betsy Germain and Charlene Marchand will give dog training demonstrations with useful tips to try. Children will be able to “dress up” therapy dogs and discover what an important role these dogs play in the lives of people in need. Rescue groups including Friends of Greyhound Friends West, New England Border Collie Rescue will also be a part of this special day. Members from these groups will discuss the joys, challenges and responsibilities of sharing your home with a canine companion. A special addition to the day includes mini makeovers for Fido, by Betsy Germain of Grooming By Betsy who will provide nail trimming, bandanas, and a quick brush to give your pup a new look (offered on a first come first serve basis).

A Flea Market is planned for the event and new and not so new items related to dogs are sought. The staff at Clermont will also be offering home made gourmet treats for you’re your best friend. Proceeds will be donated to the rescue groups participating in the event. If you have anything to contribute please contact the historic site immediately. PS: Food will be available for all the humans in attendance too!

Clermont has long been a place for animals, especially dogs. In the 18 th c. the Livingstons kept dogs, cats and tamed deer and elk. In the 19 th century there is again evidence for cats and dogs living along side the family. In the 20 th century the place must have seemed almost overrun with pets at times. Alice Livingston wrote in her “Dog Dissertation: Have You a Sara,” “In the course of a long life I and my family have brought up 20 breed of dogs…My education in dogs started in childhood with Jackie, a round-headed Skye.” She goes on to list a Pug, a spaniel, Collies, a Bull-Terrier, an Airedale, Beagle, Bloodhound, setter, two Borzoi, a Great Dane, a Jones Dog and a Greyhound that she remembered most! The family also had an exotic Afghan Spaniel, a Boxer, a Pekenese, Lhasa Apsos, and German Shepherds. They are all recorded in the hundreds of photographs taken by the family and in professional photo studios in New York City. Today the 500 acre historic site is an extremely popular dog walk venue.

For more information on Every Dog Has His Day, to make donations for the FLEA Market, Silent Auction, or to be a vendor, demonstrator, or to volunteer, please contact Kjirsten Gustavson at (518) 537 – 4240.

Clermont State Historic Site features the “manor house” and outbuildings, four formal gardens, scenic Hudson River views and miles of historic trails. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, Clermont is one of six historic sites and eleven parks administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the Taconic Region. The Friends of Clermont is a private, non-profit educational corporation, founded in 1977 to support and supplement the museum education and historic preservation programs at Clermont State Historic Site.

For generations, the Livingstons of Clermont demonstrated a fondness for dogs, not only by keeping them, but by including them in family vacations, in taking hundreds of photographs of them, by writing essays about them, by sculpting them, and in creating a pet cemetery as their final resting place. Certainly the dogs were kept for practical purposes, but evidence clearly shows the dogs at Clermont were part of the family.

With a strong focus on animal welfare, presenters from rescue groups, adoption agencies, and experts in animal behavior will speak on cruelty prevention, the importance of spaying and neutering, responsibilities of keeping a canine companion, behavior modification, and characteristics of individual breeds.

Representatives from organizations that utilize dogs in working situations will demonstrate canine intelligence, instinctual characteristics of particular breeds and the dog’s eagerness to serve.

As a 501 C3, Friends of Clermont is seeking donations and underwriters to help defray costs of this event. To make this event a success, organizers are particularly seeking canine related merchandise and services for use as event prizes and in the Doggie Silent Auction. All donors will be prominently recognized on the day of the event.

Organizations wishing to help underwrite this event will be prominently featured in all advertisements, press releases leading up to the event, with signage and in literature on the day of the event.

Clermont seeks vendors in canine merchandise and services for October 21 (Raindate October 22). A vendors space (approx. 10 X 10 feet) is just $30 made payable to Friends of Clermont. In addition, we ask each vendor to donate an item or a service that values $20 or more for use as a prize in one of the events competitions or as an item in the Silent Auction. These donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law and should be canine or event related. A vendor’s form may be printed by clicking on the link below or may be obtained by calling (518) 537-4240.