The Adventures of Kosmo and Faith

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Winter Woofstock in Toronto. I was super excited to go as I really enjoy meeting all of the different dog owners and best of all, shopping!! I met up with my friend Lianne in the morning, stopped by the VEC to pick up Faith’s atopica (which is crazy expensive, by the way!) and then went right into Woofstock.

Woofstock was.. well, in one word, disappointing. Not only was it $10 to get in, but parking was $13. Nevertheless, I knew what I was getting into before I decided to go and looked forward to all the shopping and bargains we might encounter.

As soon as I walked in, I noticed immediately that it seemed nothing like summer Woofstock. The space was much smaller, and there was not a lot of room to maneuver around. People looked at me like I was crazy because I decided to bring our AT3 stroller for the pups to cruise in, but I am so glad I did!!

Complete Madness:

I had a hard time visiting with Lianne (the person I came with) at all, because I felt like the space was too small to fit both of us. Nevertheless, there were some very cute things we did see there!

Here is a picture of these two dogs (real!) sleeping on couches. They do this at the summer event too. I don’t understand how this woman gets her dogs to stay like this (for extended periods of time, even with people petting them!) I still wonder if she drugs them or something?

I also seen a dog dressed as a Tiffany Box for the costume contest.. So cute!!!

We also met up with.. OTHER cavaliers!! Woohoo :) Here are a few pictures of them:

I also got to meet up with my good friends Debbie and Mary Beth and their cavaliers Becky and Mylee. Becky and Mylee are two of my all-time favorite cavaliers. ;) I did miss Kodee and Zoey though, they are my favorites, too!

The beautiful Mizz Becky:

The whole crew:

Faith walked quite a bit of the day, and Kosmo walked pretty well the whole day. They took turns with Lianne’s dogs in the stroller sometimes as the atmosphere was quite overwhelming for them. The dogs were pooped by the end of the day and didn’t even get up with me the next morning!

If anybody was looking for a bargain, there were none to really be found at Woofstock unfortunately. The best booths were the Smoochy Poochy (as always!) booth, Dogs in Canada booth, and the Modern Dog booth. Other than that, unless you were looking to try a new food or a few treats, there were not a lot of other options.

The worst part of the day has to go to the planning of the event. I understand that nobody wants to shop outside in the cold during winter, but provisions should have been made for dogs coming INSIDE the event. Unfortunately, between dodging people, dogs, dribble and smeared in poo on purple carpet, it left a very anxious Sara to try to find a spot to walk. I did not see anybody doing routine rounds trying to pick up after dogs either, and witnessed a dog lift its leg right in front of its owner and she just kept on walking. I left there fearful that one of my dogs may have stepped in someone’s poop and could have contracted some kind of parasite/worm, whatever. Next year, if I even bother going, it will definitely be without the dogs.

When we left, Lianne and I stopped for a bite to eat and I zipped up my dogs to keep them from begging. Somehow, Faith didn't quite get the message:

On the way out, we stopped quickly for Kos and Faith to pose next to the Christmas tree:

Although there were times when we had fun, with all the doggy accidents I think we'll stick to Summer Woofstock from now on :)