Woof Camp 2008 - Review

Thirty Years On,
And Now We Even Have Puppies

By Bondageboyhk

Congratulations to Gary Iriza, International Mr. Leather 2008, sponsored by the Barracks Bar in Palm Springs, California and new International Mr. Bootblack 2008, Bootdog, of the Alameda County Leather Corps in Castro Valley, California. The 30th International Mr. Leather was hosted at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, Illinois during May22 – 26. IML XXX surely has been another successful year and was crowded by thousands of assorted hot men in leather… and pups too!

It is certainly worth mentioning the frequent appearance of pups and Handlers at the IML XXX. Fierce barks surrounded the venue whenever fellow Handler or pup was competing on stage for the International Mr. Leather and International Mr. Bootblack contests. “And now we even have puppies”, said Chuck Renslow, founder of IML, at his speech on the contest evening. Renslow cast his mind back to the on-going changes and diverse developments of the BDSM / fetish community over the thirty years of IML history, narrated the skin culture in Europe, the rise of latex folk as if a form of “new leather”, and of cause, the canine phenomenon. The biggest pup-play gathering at IML XXX was the Woof Camp 2008, produced by the San Francisco K-9 Unit. The ever growing event grew from a humble pup meet a few years ago to this year’s one of the major parties hosted at the Hyatt Regency ballrooms on May28, 2008.

Sponsored by SquarePegToy, the three-hour long Woof Camp 2008 was for the first time being organized in two sessions. Well attended by over 40 pups and 20 Handlers, the Session A was an hour and half closed session for Handlers and Trainers to train and play closely with their pups and dogs. A large grooming station was in service to make sure each visiting pup of all sizes was combed and displayed at its best. The vet exam centre was adjacent to the grooming station, providing health check and commemorative rabies tags for pups. Training area was also available to allow Handlers to have more intimate time with their pups. For those pups who were intimidated by other alpha-dogs (some are known for leaving bite marks! Ouch~) or those who needed a snooze or rest after busy fetching (or humping), a quiet zone was just at the side of the venue. The busiest part of the venue was definitely the ‘mosh pit’ play area.

Dozens of squeaky toys were stuffed in the two Scooby-Doo piñatas donated by tigerpup, a pile of pups wasted no time showing their wild hunting nature to hop over and killed Scooby… GRRRRR… pawed the Scooby pinata into pieces. One could expect the collateral scene of all pups chasing each other for their favourite squeaky toys... well… i have to confess that it is always fun to bully “those little pups”, especially when those alphas are not around. What is even better after winning in a dogfight and walking away with the toy out of five other dogs’ mouth? (WOOF~) It is a bowl of water and a few biscuits. Believe it or not, we even got vegetarian jerky. The crowd further developed at Session B with over 75 pups and 35 Handlers, and attracted an overwhelming number of 600 plus IML participants visiting the Woof Camp. IML official camera crew and photographer were drawn to Woof Camp to document the event, taking videos and photographs together with numberless of cameras brought by other visitors, flashing around the venue for over an hour. The evening was wrapped up with the announcement of 14 amazing raffle prizes. The 2 grand raffle prizes were a Rottweiler Black rubber dog hood from Rubberdawg and 'Syke' pup muzzle from Mr. S Leather SF. Besides, the 12 assorted raffle gift packs contained gift certificate, t-shirt, pup bandanna, book, or squeaky toy, all raffle prizes came with a stuffed animal dog. SquarePegToy, Leather Creations, and the San Francisco K9 Unit also donated items for the raffles.

Roughly originated at the turn of the Millennium, IML Kennel event was an annual informal gathering in the IML hotel lobby or balcony. Pups would sniff each other out and congregate to play and to mingle, pulling their handlers along. “As the informal gathering got larger and larger each year, IML asked that we ‘get a room’ mostly to help improve traffic flow”, said Spunky. Ever since then the event had been drawing increasing number of people who are interested in seeing the pups romp, or are interested in getting into pup play themselves. At IML 29, folks from the San Francisco K9 Unit got their hands and paws dirty taking up the task to organize a more formal pup event, Woof Camp since then became the de facto puppy pride event at IML. This year, Woof Camp 2008 was organized by Brue, Gunny, Daddy Gizmo, Ace, Master Richard, Chomper and Spunky of the San Francisco K9 Unit, and supported by a team of some 20 volunteer pups and Handlers. Rich Stadtmiller was the official event photographer.

San Francisco K9 Unit was founded three years ago by “Spunky” and “Rowdy Pup” and currently has over 80 members. The San Francisco The K9 Unit is a social group for Masters/Handlers and dogs/pups in the San Francisco/Bay Area. This is a group for those who enjoy the world of Human K9 Training and Lifestyle. This is for Men who understand and appreciate the benefits of training, handling and owning a human dog. The group aims to help foster a sense of K9 community in the San Francisco Area. The San Francisco K9 Unit has regular social activities ranging from movie nights, puppy pile parties, providing presentations and demo models, dinners, outings and fundraiser to bring the pups and Handlers out of the shadows and come together. Spunky revealed their plans on a pup gathering at the “Up Your Alley” and “Folsom Street Fair” weekends in San Francisco, a Woof Camp weekend is also under consideration. pups and Handlers have been throwing out tons of ideas for Woof Camp 2009, pup party, demos, and more squeaky toys are just a few marked on the list.

The Woof Camp 2009 at IML31 is guaranteed to be bigger and better. For the time being, chill out and curl up at the dog house. wags***

Photo Credits - Courtesy of Mi-PAH

1. WC08grommingStation.jpg - A large grooming station was in service to make sure each visiting pup of all sizes was combed and displayed at its best.
2. WC08moshPit.jpg - The busiest part of the venue was definitely the ‘mosh pit’ play area.
3. WC08romping.jpg - Ever since then the event had been drawing increasing number of people who are interested in seeing the pups romp, or are interested in getting into pup play themselves.
4. WC08scooby.jpg - Dozens of squeaky toys were stuffed in the two Scooby-Doo piñatas(pinatas)