Chris Perondi performs with "Ferrari" in the "Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show" at the South By Carlos Frias Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011
Pigs are so passé.
Dogs are the fair animals du jour.
Certainly, there was a broken heart or two when word came that the pig races, a staple at the South Florida Fair, which runs through Sunday, were being replaced by the Extreme Canine Stunt Dog Show.
But don't count Adam Morrison among them.
"The pigs were boring. It was the same thing every year," said Morrison, of Jupiter, who had a front-row seat Monday afternoon with his wife and two daughters for one of several new shows at the fair.
The fair folks say they wanted to keep things fresh, which is why they ditched the racing pigs and added a stunt motorcycle show and brought back the Bella Luna Cirque acrobatics show.
Allen Eyestone/Palm Beach Post Action Jackson, a Jack Russell terrier, does a 'paws stand’ on ringmaster Chris Perondi’s palm at the South Florida Fair Monday Jan. 24, 2010.
And so far, fair attendance is up from last year, according to the fair's president, Rick Vymalatil. But officials say the pig races may be back next year.
"There's a rumor going around that the dogs ate the pigs," joked Chris Perondi, the dog show ringmaster, who runs shows throughout the day. "But I cannot confirm that."
Morrison's wife, Holly, for one, misses seeing the pigs race. She loved that the crowd got to choose a favorite and cheer it on.
But to Morrison, it wasn't much to get excited about: The porkers chase a trail of feed around the course and pig out at the end of the race where, inevitably, one of them did their business for the whole crowd to, uh, enjoy.
"An added bonus," he said, shaking his head.
"It sounds horrible, but it was fun," his wife said, poking his side.
So Morrison was pumped when the dance music started and high-flying pups came racing into the center ring, leaping 4 feet into the air, over obstacles, snatching flying disks out of air.
Flashy Ferarri , a cattle dog and border collie mix leaps into the air to catch a frisbee for Chris Perondi, of Stockton, California during the Extreme Canine Stunt Dog Show at the South Florida Fair.The Morrisons' daughters, Katelynn, 9, and Ashley, 8, oohed and aahed with the rest of the crowd when the little Jack Russell terrier balanced on Perondi's palm in midair with just his front paws.
Perondi is all showman, coaxing the likes of one dog, Ferrari, to leap off his back and over three kids from the audience as the dog caught a disk in midair.
"High Flying Harley" clears a high jump as he performs with Chris Perondi in the "Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show" at the South Florida Fair.That's the kind of thing that got this show on Oprah, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and as halftime entertainment at the Rose Bowl.
Now when would you ever get to see a pig fly like that?
"I have to admit, it was fun," Holly said, "but I still miss the pig races. I guess I like them both."
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