State Fair -- Doggies of the Wild West

If you're wondering what all the barking is behind the Village of Yesteryear and near the Heritage Village at the North Carolina State Fair, drop by and investigate. If you get there early enough you'll be able to enjoy a 20 minute show from the Doggies of the Wild West.

Doggies of the Wild West stars blacksmith-mayor-banker-and-part-time-undertaker Rowdy Yo (Gary Noel) and "silly sidekick" Calamity Jo (Giovanna Cardella), a husband-and-wife team from Mesa Arizona, as well as over half-a-dozen dogs (including Precious, Peppy, Miss Prissy, and Poopetta). After they ride into the show area on a mini-stagecoach, the dogs go through a whole round of tricks, including balancing on one paw, singing, and racing -- well, sort of racing.

Though Noel and Cardella are on the road 40 weeks a year, covering fairs, rodeos, and other venues, this is their first year at the NC State Fair. And so far they're a big hit; the two shows I went to were standing room only (turn up at least twenty minutes early to get a good seat and groove along to the bluegrass music.) I'm told on Saturday it was so busy at the stage that the tram got held up and people were standing way back from the front of the stage. Get there early!

It's easy to see why they're such an attraction; the show features leaping dogs, dancing dogs, singing dogs, gunfighting dogs, and Puddles the dog, who -- well, I'm not going to spoil it for you.

All the dogs are trained by "Rowdy Yo," Gary Noel. Noel is proud of his dogs and proud of the fact that they were all rescued from animal shelters around the country. "I look for dogs with personality," Noel said, "Dogs who are a little different. People come up to me and say, 'I have a dog who looks just like that!' That's what I want."

He continued, "People think that dogs have to be very exceptional to learn these tricks. They don't. It just takes a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a lot of dog treats." Or perhaps ice cream -- one of the dogs, Precious, is an ice cream fiend and wandered momentarily in search of a snack while I was talking to Noel.

It's hard to believe that Precious is one of the dogs that Noel describes as having been badly abused -- it took a year for Precious to even get comfortable and start working. Now Precious is a star of Doggies of the Wild West, posing patiently with kids after the show, and occasionally darting into the audience for a quick pat on the head.

Doggies of the Wild West is playing daily at 12, 2, and 4. (On Saturdays and Sundays there's an extra show at 10am.) The show is free. Did I mention get there early?

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