Commonwealth Scottie Dogs

Scottie dogs at the Commonwealth Opening Ceremony

The waiting is all over and the secret is now shared,the Opening Ceremony at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games passed without a hitch.
The “secret” is out -the placard bearer for each country’s team was a lovely little Scottie dog Didn’t they behave well?It’s quite daunting for these little dogs to go into that kind of atmosphere with their owners and walk around a track at the correct speed for the athletes and not be too fazed by it all.Some of the dogs are show dogs and used to a lot of fuss and noise but others were pets that had never been involved with this type of event and neither had their owners.When some people realised they were being watched by over 1 billion people worldwide there were a few butterflies in stomachs!

How did I get involved-well it was a phone call back in May which had my receptionist Fiona guessing as the caller would leave no details except a phone number.When I phoned back I was invited to a meeting in Glasgow but no details could be given and sounded like someone from MI5 I was intrigued as the quote of the day was”it’s to do with that large event happening in Glasgow in July work it out for yourself” Thats how my association with representatives Tom and Caz from Jack Morton Worldwide(the organisers of the Games) began.When they suggested finding 40-50 Scottie dogs to act as placard bearers I have to say I laughed as Scottie dogs have become very scarce and just finding suitable dogs was the biggest challenge, Step forward Elly from Casting who did an amazing job of getting the dogs from all over Scotland and England.
I started with a day in Barrowlands Ballroom meeting the first 30 dogs at the start of June,all dogs were vetted by me to see if they were healthy and if their temperaments were suitable.Following on from there a second rehearsal was held in Bellahouston Academy where costume fittings were done for handlers and dogs alike and dog coats were taken home to get the dogs used to the design of them.
From there we had 2 short rehearsals at Celtic Park allowing the dogs to walk around the track and get used to more people and more noise A large marquee was supplied for the dogs and handlers to wait in and their every need was catered for including even their own grassy toiling area!As the weather became warmer cold water and flannels were available to help keep them all cool along with huge fans inside the tent.All coped well with the heat especially on the last day.

Finally 2 full dress rehearsals took place over the preceding weekend from the ceremony opening. It was amazing to not only watch the show come together but also watch the dogs become more and more familiar with the venue until they started to think -as terriers do-they owned the place. First out onto the track was Rory or Mr India as he is now called leading the team from India,he is a tremendous little dog and with his grey hair around his eyes looked like an elder statesmen. Any of the dogs who weren't keen on walking were just scooped up by their owners and waved to the crowds.You will have noticed some of the Scotties were not black as we had a mix of brindle and wheaten dogs.

With 71 teams some of the dogs got to go around a second time and you could see from their whole manner how much they were lapping up the attention both in and outside the stadium.With over 2000 volunteers on site many people came up to talk to the dogs including some of the police!
In fact can I say a special thanks to the Glasgow Police who helped to make the transfer of the dogs into Celtic Park on 2 coaches as smooth as possible and tried to get us all through the intense security in as short a time as possible due to the hot weather.
I would also like to say it was a pleasure working with such professional people in the organising group and I now can see how these huge ceremonies actually happen,a lot of hard work with military style precision.
Now I wonder if they need a vet for the Olympics in Rio??!!