No dog and pony show

Ran on Friday, July 27, 2007

No dog and pony show
Fair's animal competitions becoming exotic

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-telegram Staff

Similar to the fairy tale "The Tortoise and the Hare," a slow-moving reptile finished first Thursday at the Eau Claire County Fair.
Cats, rats, birds, fish and guinea pigs all came together as competitors brought their pets to the Eau Claire County Exposition Center in an attempt to win the purple ribbon, which signifies the grand champion.
Taking home the purple ribbon in the small animal category for the second year in a row was Rome Rauter, a 10-year-old from Foster.
Last year his sun conure, Sunny, an exotic bird, took home the ribbon, but this year Speedy, a turtle, shined above the rest of the children's pets. Both Sunny and Speedy were in the finals.
County fairs no longer are restricted to farm animals. They now include exotic animals and small pets.
"It's getting more and more commonplace to have an exotic animal," small animal Judge Jill Helming said.
Helming judges the owner's basic knowledge as well as the care and health of the animal.
"It's really important you know about your animal and how to take care of it," Helming said.
In the guinea pig competition, Joey Lantz, 12, Eau Claire won a blue ribbon with 2-year-old Spike.
"I got the blue because I was hard to stump," Lantz said. "It's something I like to do."
As an animal lover and 20-year judge, Helming travels around the state to county fairs to determine which owner and pet pair is the best.
"I believe in county fairs," she said. "I don't think anything teaches kids responsibility better than to have an animal."
The wide range of animals at the fair sometimes can be a challenge for Helming. When an eight-foot python visited the fair, she wasn't eager to touch it.
"Sometimes the kids know more about the animal than I do," she said of reptiles and "critters."