Four thousand dogs -from Airedales to West Highland Terriers are entered in the event, which takes up three buildings at Cal Expo. The dogs all walk away with treats. The owners hope for a ribbon.
The 94th annual Sacramento Dog Show is being held today and this weekend. The amount of money some people are willing to spend to train and show a dog varies drastically.
Kelli Wilkerson is from Dixon and says she's been showing dogs for most of her life.
"Entries themselves run anywhere from $12-and-$40 per entry. For training, I took mine once-a-week to confirmation class -$8 a-week. We have a dog at home we've put thousands of dollars into training."
Her Terrier Ella took 2nd place in her category.
David Merriam retired as a Superior Court Judge 20 years ago, and has been judging dog shows ever since. He says for some people, thousands of dollars isn't a lot of money to spend on a dog.
"Some of the great high-flying dogs -by high flying, I mean those that are winning best-in-shows and have professional handlers and are traveling around the country, they may spend as much as half-a-million dollars campaigning a dog per year which is a shocking amount."
Though he's usually a show judge, today, he had an entry, a terrier whose proper name is "ChampionBestuvallTakeItEasy," but she answers to "Ivy."
As he spoke, the judge pointed to his dog, being shown by co-owner Jan Dykema. They were awarded a green and yellow "Best of Variety" ribbon.
They did not spend half a million dollars for their victory -just enough for gas and a hotel.
There is no prize money awarded.
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