Come with Chloe…: Corgi Con 2016!

Chloe Lu

Hi my french fries! For those of you who didn’t know, Corgi Con 2016 was held in San Francisco on Saturday, June 25th. Basically it’s a day for doggos to go to Ocean Beach to meet other doggos, compete in costume pageants, enjoy the beach, and just be fawned over for hours. (As if they’re not fawned over always already) CorgiCon had booths for merchandise, raffle tickets, and special doggy treats for it’s attendees. In total there were 792 corgis that signed in, but there were also other breeds so it was definitely a doggy heaven.

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I had never been to Corgi Con in my life and so I was super excited, especially because I met my idol-dog (but I’ll get into that later). Saturday morning came and I jumped out of bed (not literally I’m not a morning person, ever) and made my way to Ocean Beach. It was held in the area by the Ocean Beach parking lot so it was easy to spot. I met up with some friends and we began meeting and petting all the corgis we could get our hands on. I probably stepped on more amounts of dog pee than a normal human should step on in their entire lifetime, but it was all good because I met the most amazing dogs. I was already struggling in the sun, but the puppers were patiently standing around in their natural fur coats and were just so happy to be at the beach. There was a little dog pool a few yards from the check-in line and I was never so jealous in my life. There were children running around in the pool with the doggos and having the time of their lives. I remember seeing this one pupper that kept trying to bite the water but couldn’t so he fell over. I relate so much to that pupper. I hope he gets his dream of biting water some day.

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Not only were there hundreds of dogs collectively on a beach, some of those special doggos wore costumes to show off to their doggo pals. There were pizza costumes, hot dog costumes, and the Wonder Bread costume which I love because corgis are secretly just loaves of bread. I love seeing dogs in accessories, especially corgis because they can only wear so much of that little body of theirs but they make the most of it.

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I was wandering aimlessly, following corgi butt after corgi butt because I finally saw him. HIM. My idol-dog. A rush of emotions flew through my mind because I finally screamed, “GATSBY?” That’s right. I met VlogAfterCollege’s beautiful corgi mascot, Gatsby. I started watching VlogAfterCollege in the middle of my junior year when I was having a hard time with classes and seeing Gatsby put a smile on my face daily. I watched him everyday, regardless of it being a new video or not. I watched Gatsby’s growth from when Ryen (his owner) first got him to his current age. I rushed over and immediately asked if I could take a picture with him. Of course, he already had a couple people crowding over him but Gatsby still remained calm and cool. I called his name and he came over and let me pet him. He really is one of the softest corgis I’ve ever met. But the best part is, he sat on me. On my feet specifically, but he sat down and let me pet him from above. That was the highlight of my life. I’m not even remotely joking, that was the highlight of my life. I met Ryen and Shawn, both of whom I watch on the daily. In the moment I couldn’t believe it. My goal of CorgiCon was to maybe just catch a glimpse or pet Gatsby but I got a picture and I even got featured in his vlog! Dreams do come true, kids! Never give up!

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Overall, my CorgiCon experience was amazing. I mean, what could possibly be wrong with a beach full of dogs? When I go to college in the fall, I definitely hope to attend the SoCal CorgiCon. But I’ll be back for San Francisco’s CorgiCon and maybe with my own pupper someday!

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