The entry below recording a dog show held in Tacoma, Washington in the spring of 1909 may look mundane but let me tell you, the show was lit.
The Tacoma Kennel Club brought in a judge from California for the event. His arrival made the newspaper:
Check this seemingly ho-hum summary of the show from Dogdom magazine:
“A little shooting” just creeps in there with the elegance of a blobfish. And it fails to earn a mention in other papers that covered the show:
I guess the courts were speedier in 1909 because the shooter immediately went before a judge and received no punishment:
In related news, a cross country race was being organized at this same time to showcase that newfangled bit of technology, the automobile. The race was sponsored by Robert Guggenheim, who was also a dog fancier. He decided to delay his rendezvous with the Pathfinder car (which was mapping out a course for the race) in Boise so he could stay in Tacoma for the dog show, where he had one of his bulldogs entered.
As for how Mr. Guggenheim’s dog did, he lost. The bulldog, Newguard, was undefeated in 50 shows. Losing at Tacoma was a big fucking deal. I include the following bit of grace, with more than a little sadness at its diminished state at present day:
All in all, a pretty memorable inaugural show for the Tacoma Kennel Club, which still holds (slightly less dramatic) dog shows today.