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Is this necessary? Are you accusing him of lying?

Wow, I am impressed that you can take simple questions that I asked him and come up with that statement that I am accusing him of lying.

 

Tom stated he had won money at a sdt so I asked him what trial.....trying to figure out your logic on that?

 

Oh, I have volunteered at the last few finals we had on the west coast, and helped with the parking and gate at one. The questions I remembered were along the lines of where do I park, what time does it start and is there a shuttle.....

 

Diane

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If I weren't working, I'd most certainly be volunteering. I have not been to Belle Grove, but at Gettysburg, it was pretty obvious where the action was and little direction/information was needed from the folks taking money at the gate. I confess that at Sturgis I don't remember there being a gate.... At Sturgis, I had the great pleasure (after running my dog) of working with Dr. Leroy Boyd (I met him for the first time at Sturgis--what a wonderful and kindly man!) to do demos for the spectators. I also helped with exhaust. Great times!

 

At any rate, volunteering is a great way to meet a lot of really nice people, both border collie folks and spectators. I'll be up at the top, where I will have a completely different view of the trial!

 

J.

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For anyone thinking about or interested in volunteering for the Finals at Belle Grove if you go to http://wwwlnationalsheepdogfinals.org and then click on the volunteer link in the left menu. That will take you to a page with the contact information for the volunteer coordinators for the various tasks that need all the volunteers that want to have a very rewarding experience while helping put on a great Final.

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There is always tons of work to do before the Finals to get set up and then after the Finals there is more work to take down all that was set up................no shortage of work and a real need for lots of volunteers........ Like Diane said, even 4 hrs will help, that's 4 hrs that might be to relieve someone else for a short time. The more volunteers the lighter the work load for all involved. So, consider volunteering, you will be glad you did.

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I attended my first National Finals in 2001 as a volunteer in Klamath. I was very much a PRE-novice handler....had a handful of lessons with bad trainer and an untalented dog plus a puppy on a string (a dog who would later change my life). I worked hard all week doing what was needed where ever needed and was rewarded with thank you's, great tips and observations from Open handlers, and a ring side seat to the action on the field (and behind the scenes). I'll never forget Amanda's tenaciousness getting Eucher back on track after a turnback gone wrong, Tom Wilson's Dot giving her all, Alasdair stopping to check his watch, stop, and relax his sheep before commencing the shed, Bev running young Pippa, or Scot Glen completing a shed that was a thing of beauty....remembered fondly by me to this day.

 

Regardless of your level of experience, please go volunteer.....be honest about your experience or ability.....and then jump in and help where needed. You have no idea how much trash hauling, lunch delivery, supply hauling, program distribution, fence building and change counting is needed.....you can do this. You'll get a lot out of participating in this way rather than a stranger spectator on the side lines.

 

Two years after my first volunteer experience, I ran my own dog at my first Finals as a handler in 2003....and have participated in most Finals in the West since. Much credit can be given to the inspiration that was the 2001 Finals and the friendships and mentors that came out of that experience.

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Christina,

I would think that many of the jobs could be done with a service dog in attendance. Manning the booth or the entry gate or running scores and similar jobs certainly shouldn't be an issue. Probably your best bet is to just contact one of the volunteer coordinators at the link someone provided earlier in this thread and ask them about the open jobs you might be interested in and whether having your service dog with you would be a problem.

 

J.

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Christina,

I would think that many of the jobs could be done with a service dog in attendance. Manning the booth or the entry gate or running scores and similar jobs certainly shouldn't be an issue. Probably your best bet is to just contact one of the volunteer coordinators at the link someone provided earlier in this thread and ask them about the open jobs you might be interested in and whether having your service dog with you would be a problem.

 

J.

 

Will do! Thank you.

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Would it be possible to do any of the jobs with a service dog? I might be going and would love to help out but I will have my dog in tow.

 

You would have to check with the person who is coordinating whichever position(s) you are offering to fill. In general, I can see an accompanying dog of good manners (which I'm sure your service dog has) being present at the sales booth or even at the gate, and maybe even hospitality. Let's face it, handlers' dogs are present and so are spectator dogs.

 

Right now, the running/posting and timer jobs appear to be filled but they are always happy to have back-up people available should someone not be able to fill a time slot, so that is another possibility.

 

Celt accompanied me to Gettysburg in 2007 and Belle Grove in 2010, and hung around while I did several jobs. He had to understand that he either had to lie down and stay put while I worked, or stay by my side, depending on the job.

 

However, as I mentioned, you would need to contact the coordinator for whatever job(s) you are interested in, and ask that question of her.

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A question has come up from another volunteer about the feasibility of having a dog along while doing a volunteer job. While it is a possibility particularly with an adult dog that is accustomed to and comfortable with all the activity, noise, and excitement that happens at an event like this, it is not really a suitable situation for a youngster - you can't be doing your job and providing for the needs of a young animal who might be feeling quite stressed by all the unfamiliar activity. In addition, you certainly wouldn't want to be bringing any dog that is either people- or dog-aggressive or otherwise reactive.

 

So, when in doubt, chicken out (as a friend would say). Dogs that are actively trialed or being raised by an active trialist are probably very used to most anything that will come their way that day, and so will experience minimal stress. However, dogs that are not accustomed to this sort of venue, would most likely be better off left at home. Be your dog's advocate and put his/her well-being ahead of your desires to have him/her by your side at this time if you are a volunteer. If you are a spectator, you can just leave the situation that is bothering or stressing your dog (or that is resulting in your dog reacting) but if you are a volunteer, you just can't abandon ship because of your dog - without leaving the rest of the crew in a bind because they have lost a helper.

 

Plus, if you have a job to do, it would serve everyone best if you could concentrate on your job and not have to divide your attention between your job and your dog's needs.

 

I hope my prior encouragements about the suitability of bringing a dog along were not confusing - they were meant to be aimed at those who are strictly spectators (not volunteers) and who have dogs that are comfortable in a situation like the National Finals.

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