Here is my report on the Puppy Dog Pals show at the Allentown Fair on Friday September 3. Prior to going to the fair, I heard there was a show with dogs but was not expecting it to be very impressive. I am glad I was wrong though. The show was on a small rectangular stage full of advertising for the present show, including the fact that they were on America’s Got Talent. I was seated on these wooden bleachers that would not be out of place at a high school football show. I ended up losing my mask during the show to the space below the bleachers. One by one, the announcer called for the dogs to come out. There were 4 in total: Ruddy, Gizmo, Jenna, and Cash. Each of them were of different breeds, ages and sizes. The announcer went right into the show, telling the dogs to jump high, bow to the audience, and jump through hoops of varying sizes. I saw adults looking with an entertained smile, while kids cheered with fervor. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the show. I noticed the dogs were rewarded for each of their tricks with a treat and a head scratch, which made me feel better about their situation. Suddenly Ruddy came out when Gizmo was called for a trick and kind of stole his thunder. At the time I thought this was a sign of misbehavior. More on this later. A volunteer was called up to participate in the show, a little girl who was about 8 or 9. The volunteer was told to hold the hoop for the dogs to jump through, but she was kind of nervous so she held it with a shaky hand. Despite this, the dogs were able to make perfect jumps through the hoop. They were really well trained. At some point in the show, Ruddy expertly knocked down an entire obstacle course he was supposed to run through, sending the crowd into an explosive collection of laughter. I had sort of a lightbulb moment and realized that all these “misbehaviors” were all comedic skits rather than a sign of disobedience. I also picked up on a sort of sound signal that they were playing in the ambiance music. This must have been what cued the dogs to go off script. This show was a lot more clever than I initially gave it credit for. Near the end of the show, each dog had a final trick to perform. Ruddy jumped over five sets of hurdles, Gizmo walked across a tightrope, Cash pretended to steal Ruddy’s trick and pretended to get hurt(which is good acting on the dog’s part), but the one that stood out the most was Cash’s. Cash’s trick was called the big ramp trick. Cash climbed up a tall ladder onto a platform at least 8 feet high, and was called to jump into the announcer’s open arms. It was the ultimate display of a bond between man and dog. Cash jumped into the announcer’s open arms with no hesitation. After that everyone cheered and the show was wrapped. Writing this paper a few days after watching the show, I can still hear the collective gasp through the audience as Cash jumped off of the ramp into the announcer’s arms. It’s a moment I’m not going to forget anytime soon.
