First U.S. Dog and Cat 'Meet the Breeds' Event is a Huge Success

Over 36,000 people attended the first Meet the Breeds^TM event, including dogs and cats, held over two days in October 2009 in New York City, and sponsored by PetPartners. The American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) came together for this occasion to arrange a unique showcase of nearly 200 purebreed dogs and pedigreed cats, providing fun entertainment, and information on different breeds and responsible pet ownership topics.  The organizers are excitedly planning their second event for 2010.

Canine demonstration rings -- with packed bleachers -- included Agility, Obedience and Flyball, as well as the valuable K-9 work done by police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, to name a few. 

In the cat section, experts presented  many different pedigreed cats, entertaining audiences with a variety of intersting feline facts and explaining how different breeds are judged. The feline Agility demonstration proved why this relatively new sport is attracting many new supporters, as well as offering fun ideas to entertain and exercise your cat at home.   

PetPartners, provider of both the AKC and CFA Pet Healthcare Plans, was proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of the first Meet the Breeds event. The entertainment included activities that drew lines of individuals and families wanting to participate, such as playing the popular Petz Agility Wii Game, balloon artists (twisting balloons into amazing dog and cats shapes on demand), and the ever popular face painters.  Thousands of pet owners also went home with a free tote bag and collar tag courtesy of PetPartners, as well as valuable information on how to protect their four-legged family members with a pet health insurance plan.

Supported by 16 sponsors, and over 100 vendors, offering many kinds of pet products and services, the first standalone Meet the Breeds event drew rave reviews from many animal journalists, bloggers and pet Web sites, such as ZooToo and Pawnation. Seeing thousands of happy faces packing the aisles made Meet the Breeds a marvelous and satisfying event for PetPartners to support.  Attendees enjoyed many amazing, wonderful animals, talked with their breeders and learned new ways to enjoy their pets.

In October 2010, the AKC and CFA are planning an even bigger Meet the Breeds event, again in New York. PetPartners is confident that the AKC and CFA will wow us even more with their second venture -- or adventure -- for pet lovers!