Stories from the Archives
Contributing to our community: The Pet Show
The Pet Show is a PLC Sydney tradition dating from the early 1950s when it was billed the ‘Pet and Doll Show’. Before long the pets gained supremacy and since the early 1960s the proceeds from the Pet Show have been donated to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.
By 2015 these donations totalled $498,954.66. The funds have gone toward the training of guide dogs to help the visually impaired.
Year 9 students organise the annual event. Judging of pets is central to the day but there are also food and handcraft stalls, special events and celebrity guests. Over the years television personalities from Sons and Daughters, Home and Away, A Country Practice, Harry’s Practice and The Voice have opened the Show or judged the entries.
The girls learn how the process works by meeting guide dogs and their owners. Each year representatives from the Guide Dogs organisation attend a special assembly where that year’s donation is handed over.
The pupils work throughout the year for this special day. They have a lot of fun in the process but the key value of the project is learning that through service they can make a difference in the world and that through contributing to the community they fulfil the obligations and responsibilities of citizenship.
Images (from left): 1953 Pet and Doll Show. Photo donated by Margaret Dent (nee Goodachre), student 1949-46. 1956 Pet Show.
For information on this year's Pet Show, visit events on our website