Group’s annual event is set for April 30 at Bolado Park
The annual Gavilan Kennel Club dog show at Bolado Park will
return April 30, but with a slightly different feel than past
years
– as its members are trying to rid themselves of all
associations with Hollister businesses due to the city’s mandate
for two dog types to get spayed or neutered.
Group’s annual event is set for April 30 at Bolado Park
The annual Gavilan Kennel Club dog show at Bolado Park will return April 30, but with a slightly different feel than past years – as its members are trying to rid themselves of all associations with Hollister businesses due to the city’s mandate for two dog types to get spayed or neutered.
In response to the new Hollister spay and neuter ordinance approved in October of last year, the dog show organizers are telling owners to avoid spending money in Hollister – and move their business to neighboring Tres Pinos, San Juan Bautista or Santa Clara County.
“They enacted anti-dog legislation. That’s their right,” Gavilan Kennel Club member Joe Pendry said to the county board of supervisors during a meeting earlier this month. “And we have the right not to support them.”
The ordinance, passed by the Hollister City Council on Oct. 18 in a 3-2 vote, was met with a negative response from dog owners around the area and, notably, members of the Gavilan Kennel Club that holds the event each year in Tres Pinos. The ordinance was passed as a way to control overcrowding at the Hollister Animal Shelter that is associated with pit bulls and Chihuahuas, which make up a vast majority of seized pets.
The Gavilan Kennel Club made its position known about shunning the city’s businesses when the city council had discussed the ordinance last year, threatening to boycott the city if it was passed.
“We felt that it’s just not good to have a mandatory spay and neuter program,” Gavilan Kennel Club President Katherine Dettmer said. “They overlooked the amount of money we bring to the city.”
The kennel club’s boycott of the city doesn’t come as a surprise for city council members.
“It really doesn’t surprise me – I kind of expected it,” Councilman Victor Gomez said.
Gomez hoped that the council eventually would revisit the ordinance to find a middle ground between the kennel club’s wishes and what the city hopes to do, he said. But owners that don’t breed their dogs still need to spay and neuter them.
“I hope in the future we can reopen that line of communication again,” he said.
The current ordinance allows dog owners who breed their pets to apply for an “unaltered dog certification” for pets over six months of age. Other exemptions include dogs boarded in licensed kennels or businesses that board animals for professional training or resale.
Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia called the ordinance a “done deal” but hoped the kennel club would reconsider its boycott.
“I’m not really surprised, but it’s too bad,” she said.
Councilmember Ray Friend called the boycott “petty” and an attempt at “trying to control the issue.”
“I think it’s kind of petty that they threatened us with this,” he said “It doesn’t surprise me. They said they would do it and they were upset.”
Friend continued, calling it “counterproductive” for the city and the club.
The council members weren’t sure what the economic impact would be on the city, but acknowledged there would be some.
“If the members adhere to the club’s wishes then, yes, there will be an impact,” Friend said.
During last year’s discussions, Dettmer presented the city council with documents that said the city gains more than $300,000 during the weekends of the dog show.
“We bought gas there, we ate there,” she said. “People come from all over the area and would buy things in Hollister. We are telling them not to.”
Despite the boycott, there have been “two or three” reservations at the Hollister Best Western on San Felipe Road on Hwy. 25, hotel manager Sanjay Shah said.
The hotel does not usually allow dogs in the hotel, but during the dog show, it does at an extra cost.
Overall, it’s too early to tell if there is or will be a different amount of reservations from past years because it’s still early, he said.
“The numbers would be misleading,” Shah said.
The organizers are trying to get dog owners to set up reservations in other dog-friendly hotels or bring an RV and stay at Bolado Park, Dettmer said.
Despite issues with the city, Dettmer is looking forward to keeping the dog show in the county – a middle ground between all the dog owners and dog lovers in the area, she said.
“I’m saddened (with the ordinance), but we are not going to let that destroy our dog show in Tres Pinos,” she said. “This is a perfect place, and we welcome everyone to come.”
The dog show will take place April 30 and May 1 at Bolado Park. Entrance to the show is free, but there is a $5 fee for parking.
Organizers are expecting more than 600 dog participants and nearly 2,000 attendees.
