The Monday Report

We're home from Toronto so it is time for the reveal... which Canadian celebrity made a long appearance at the Superdogs show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair yesterday?

This guy:


It looks like he is making an entrance, waving to his adoring fans... actually, he was celebrating because his "team" (I think they were called the Bow-Wows) had just won that heat of the relay race (the dogs did, I mean... he was "handling" a dog).

Rick Mercer appeared out of nowhere, with no warning just as it seems he does on his show, to participate in the Superdogs show with his own dog, a precocious bull dog named Pot Roast. Pot Roast and Rick did all the elements of the show along with the regular Superdogs. And hilarity ensued. (And if you don't know who Rick Mercer is, well, that is so sad for you! You must go here and find out. Basically, Canadian icon because of a number of reasons but mainly because he is damn funny. Ever seen Talking to Americans? Yeah, that be him.)


Pot Roast is not built for speed. He had some trouble bounding over the really high hurdle; he couldn't dance to save his life; he tried so hard to catch a frisbee but it kept going too fast (although the best part of the whole thing was when Pot Roast grabbed the edge of the frisbee from Rick's hands and would not on his life let go. I thought Rick was going to wet himself. It honestly took almost five minutes to get him off the frisbee so Rick could actually throw it); he was stupendous at the relay - jumping over hurdles then through a tunnel then back over the hurdles again.

The cameras were actually pretty inconspicuous; you noticed them but they didn't get in the way of enjoying the show or staring at RICK MERCER (!). Rick Mercer always gives the impression on his show that he is game for anything and loves his job; he gives this impression when he's filming too. Maybe it was all for the show, but he really did seem to find the whole thing hilarious and seemed to being having fun. Pot Roast seemed equally pleased.


Of course, I took tons of photos when we realized who it was who was running a bull dog up the course but a little point and shoot doesn't have much chance in an arena that size so I only got a couple of good ones. (And yes, these are the good ones.)


The girls had no idea who he was but it made the show all the better for John and I (and it was good to start with... and free with admission to the Fair).