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Murdoch’s pet fair sees large turnout

Nate Waggenspack
Chantae Cook, of Murdoch's, gives a bath to Etta, a dachshund owned by Linda Bernhardt, at the Murdoch's Pet Health Fair on Saturday. A host of pet owners from the area turned out to take advantage of the various pet services available at the fair.
Nate Waggenspack

There was dog hair on the ground and clean animals everywhere, which was exactly what Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply was hoping for Saturday.

The Murdoch’s Pet Health Fair saw an excellent turnout throughout the day, making the first-time event in Craig a rousing success. The 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. fair, which included a wide variety of animal services had a steady stream of owners and pets keeping the workers busy.

“I don’t know how many washes and vaccinations we’ve had so far today, but it’s been a lot,” said René Littlehawk-Calicura, the pet department specialist at the Craig Murdoch’s, who spearheaded the fair effort. “It’s been a ball all day. It’s been an absolute blast.”



Littlehawk-Calicura was operating several washing stations and said she alone had washed 15 dogs by noon.

“We had a line out here at 9:30, before we were even all the way set up,” she said.



The fair offered free baths for dogs in addition to vaccinations, adoptions, grooming services and pet portraits, among other services. Laura Tyler, of Total Teamwork Training, and Glenna Grandbouche, of Canines Unlimited, were on hand to give training tips and advice about pets ownership.

“I’m trying to teach people about hot-weather care for dogs, showing them what’s available,” Tyler said about her focus for the day, given the hot weather in Craig all summer. “It’s all about education.”

Pet owners were impressed with the spread available to them. Most took advantage of the dog-washing station, with the vaccinations and grooming stations also being popular options.

Linda Bernhardt brought 23 dachshunds during the course of the day to the fair, each one getting cleaned up and her youngest getting puppy vaccinations.

“This is a good idea,” Berhnardt said about the fair. “I hope they do it again.”

Bernhardt’s friend, January Zaledzieski-Rios, also had her dachshund washed and said she was impressed with the care taken with every animal.

“Everybody has been so good with the dogs,” Zaledzieski-Rios said. “Some have been a little skittish, but none have freaked out because (workers) have handled them so well.”

Tyler called the fair a huge success and hopes it will be back next year after the response from the community this time.

“This has been the best, first-ever pet fair,” she said. “We had a lot of people here before we were even ready for them, and that’s a really good thing.”

Nate Waggenspack can be reached at 970-875-1795 or nwaggenspack@craigdailypress.com


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