Concerning the gas bombs at the World Dog Show in Buenos Aires, there are a lot of rumours going around the world. This is what I and other reporters there have experienced and found out.
No dogs died at all or were harmed by the gas. I know nothing about a fight with a judge, but there was a fight between two handlers. There was a lot of panic, but all the people helped each other to bring out the dogs and other people. The gas used by the people does not infect dogs or horses, as it is a gas used at demonstrations on the street.
I can tell you it hurt a lot, but I didn’t see any dog with any kind of problems. All in all, there was panic and people rushed out into the streets. Fortunately “only” 7 people went to the hospital. Many handlers needed to look for their dogs, but the committee arranged a rescue area for unidentified dogs and all dogs were found again later. People were really concerned and helped to get the dogs out as soon as possible and as they did not know whom they belonged to, many dogs were supposed stolen or dead after the attack. This was a first reaction to many people and handlers, but after some time looking around and finding their dogs back in the rescue area, it was realised that they were all well and alive.
The committee took measures against the club and managed in getting the judgements going after the police declared everything was safe again. This took 4 hours. I must say that this was not a problem of the committee but of only a few irresponsible handlers who can be considered as terrorists. But the Argentina dog show was very good, the people were very nice and the committee very efficient. They all cried at the press conference and felt so ashamed of what had happened. They worked so hard for two years, especially the last months and were so tired and then this happened. It was very emotional. This could have happened in every country. The press had a splendid Press Room available with a big buffet every day and drinks, Internet access and even lockers! Every day there was a press conference and the interaction with the committee was excellent. Marcella Nestler was indicated to be our Press Officer and was really devoted to her job.
The only minor point was the Main ring that was very long and rectangular and everything happened far away from us while we were sitting on the other hand. This made it difficult for taking pictures of the dogs while judging. We were allowed into the main ring and the results were every day on the Internet. This should be an example for many other shows.
Adolf Cabane and myself made a speech before the Best In Show in order to thank the committee for their efforts.
The incident was nothing that the committee deserved and notwithstanding the fact that the incident started already on Saturday, measures were taken to prevent further incidents as a lot of extra security was provided on the ring of the Dogo Argentino, but nobody could predict that some irresponsible dangerous men could go so far as to throw gas bombs in a crowded area and create such a panic. Even with 100 security people extra, the reaction would have been the same. This was the act of a single person and a few of his friends, and we can only hope that justice will be done and that this man will have the right sentence, as this could have resulted in serious casualties and even possibly deaths.
Karl Donvil, Reporter
Log in
