Gas Prices Have Seriously Hurt Entries

While the Salisbury Kennel Club brings an unbelievable amount of economic financial advantages to Salisbury, gas prices have driven more than 300 entries into dropping out of the Show.

While it has always been difficult to draw this elite group of people and dogs to the Eastern Shore, Salisbury is an additional 2 to 3 hours out of the way for most. This show does not rely on local dogs, handlers and judges. They travel here from all over the Country and fuel prices are killing the Industry.

We talked about the trickle down effect from these gas prices locally but if things don't get better soon, things are going to get even worse for the economy across America. As many of the local hotels usually have absolutely no rooms available in the past, you can now get rooms. Granted, there are a few new hotels in the area, I understand that. However, people grow accustom to staying at the same places and with so many dogs dropping out of the show, even more rooms are available.

I can tell you how this has even effected us personally. We have a dog who is only one major away from a Championship. There was a major in the Salisbury Show in which our guy could have possibly won right here at home. However, Jennifer didn't even bring him today because so many people dropped out of the show, eliminating any chance for a major anyway. This decision doesn't effect the Show because we already paid in advance for the entry. We also chose not to enter him to allow others to gain points for their dogs. Our dog needs only one thing, a major, not points.

What this also means is, we spent good money entering our dog into the show and that money is completely wasted. Over time, this could also effect the end results of a successful show because people will quickly grow tired of paying to enter their dogs only to learn no one could afford to travel here and actually enter them into the ring.

So the future of this show is questionable. I'm not at all suggesting they cannot survive because as well known as the Salisbury Kennel Club Show is, it's one of their favorites Nation Wide. One of the reasons for that is the Hospitality. Salisbury and the Eastern Shore are loaded with wonderful people, fantastic restaurants and very nice hotel rooms. They welcome these people to bring their animals into these rooms and then there's the hospitality they provide in the show itself. The entrance fee to get in is minimal, allowing so many people the ability to afford to get in and enjoy a full day of excitement.

All that being said, when you're paying $3.00 a gallon to get here, many of these people show up in huge Motor Coaches and let me tell you first hand, they aren't cheap either! I'm sure some of you will be thinking, if they can afford the Motor Coaches, they can afford the gas. Well, perhaps you're right. However, some of us use our heads and think, is it worth driving there and pay out $500.00 in gas? Maybe if we are heading to a resort like Disney World, etc.. These people in many cases travel from one event to the other and no matter how much money you have, you just get tired of throwing it away after a while.

You also want to keep in mind that just like big business verses small business, there are FAR more one dog owners showing up in the hopes of a win than there are multiple dog owners. When the larger group of single dog owners start refusing to show up because of how much it cost to get there, entrance fees, hotels and food, you've got a serious problem on your hands.

All in all, Americans are simply going to drop out of events like this. They're going to stop going to the Mall. They're going to stop buying cars. They're going to start pulling their children out of private schools. It will trickle down like there's no tomorrow and what I'm really trying to say is, prepare yourselves ahead of time, (NOW) because it's only going to get worse.

Someone also mentioned how well Wicomico County did last year with the Civic Center and so forth. As this may be true, Wicomico County also raised the cost in a big way for this event and others. It may have worked THIS YEAR but the impact of groups like this backing out in the future won't hit them till probably next year. You wait and see, Wicomico County and many other municipalities that have enjoyed the riches of years past will FLOP in years to come because they didn't adjust with the times and or circumstances. This, of course, is just my opinion.

I should add, you can't get a space at the Civic Center right now. That's how big a draw this Show is locally. A friend just called me and said he had to wait around for a spot and he went from one parking lot to the other, including the old mall lot. If the County wants to continue enjoying such turn outs, they better reconsider what they charge in years to come. No one wants to see these events go away.