If you planned on camping in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley or anywhere near Roseburg this week it is unlikely you will be able to find a campsite, as nearly 700 retrievers and their owners swarm into the Umpqua Valley from all over the nation for the largest retriever event in the country, reports The News-Review.
Pam Bunnell, a board member of the Umpqua Valley Retriever Club, the host of this year’s Master National AKC retriever competition in Douglas County, said 658 dogs are registered for this year’s event.
“RV parks will be full, vacation homes by owners are booked solid, and the competitors are from all over the United States,” Bunnell said.
Many of the competitors, Bunnell said, will bring multiple dogs, and there will be about 10 local competitors involved. Bunnell said there will be a lot of fifth-wheel trucks and trailers around the area, that have been designed with custom boxes to haul the dogs.
“Some pros from the East Coast will bring 28 to 30 dogs because they’re professional handlers, it’s big business for some of them,” she said.
Closing ceremonies will be held at the fairgrounds the following weekend, depending on how soon the competition is completed.
The events, which are open to the public at no charge, always have a big economic impact on the communities in which they are located, as it did last year when an estimated $6.4 million was infused into the economy of Tennessee Colony, Texas.
