PNE SuperDogs remains a fan favorite after 45 years

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Ever since she was a little girl in Vancouver, Lisa Sun would drag her mom and dad to the PNE facility. Super Dog shows, three times a day if possible.

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“You make your parents watch as many times as you can in the Colosseum,” Sun said as English bulldogs Sherlock and Sir Domingo sat at his feet.

“I was that person, I was that kid who would drag my parents and then future boyfriends, ‘Let’s go see the SuperDogs!'”

Their dogs, who appear in the show this year. the AvengersAdd comic relief with their beefy chests, large heads, and short legs as they compete against collies, poodles, and whippets—virtually any type of breed.

This year’s show has a superhero theme, complete with super villains, of course. Sun’s dogs, seven-year-old brothers, play the Hulk (and backup Hulk).

“It’s so exciting, as you get older you want to see the dogs every year at the PNE and you dream about it,” Sun said Thursday inside the Pacific Coliseum. “It was one of those dreams, ‘One day I would love to have a dog in SuperDogs.'”

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That happened in 2009 when Sun and her three little pugs participated in a workshop for dog owners. The pugs’ athleticism catches the eye of businessman and SuperDogs owner Chase Howard, whose various responsibilities include serving as creative director.

“It was the thrill of my life,” Sun said.

This year’s show is special not only because the PNE is back but because 2022 marks the 45th anniversary of SuperDogs.

Founded by a Toronto native weed williams As a canine athletic show with dogs running and jumping at the PNE, today SuperDogs annually perform hundreds of shows in North America with three traveling groups.

They’re at the Canadian National Show in Toronto, the BC Northern Show in Prince George and Vancouver right now, and they’ll be performing to nearly half a million people over the next week or so.

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“Let me tell you, the excitement here in Vancouver is beyond anything,” said Howard of SuperDogs. “The PNE is the best place to entertain in the whole world.”

Over 45 years, the PNE estimates that between eight and 10 million people have seen SuperDogs.

“I think everyone in British Columbia has seen the SuperDogs twice, based on those statistics,” Howard said.

“There’s something special about people here, they say ‘Hey, we’re going to have a good time with these dogs and the dogs are going to have a good time with us.’

“It’s absolutely, absolutely one of the most exciting things to do, to put on a show here at PNE.”

Howard, whose legal name is Leonard Chase, even wrote A musical about SuperDogs that debuted last fall to wag their tails reviews.

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To celebrate 45 years of PNE shows, a group of SuperDogs on Thursday morning each received a puppy — small dog birthday cakes made from meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs, plain yogurt, peanut butter, baking powder, and whole wheat flour per Great Canadian Dog Pies in East Van, to a soundtrack of Happy Birthday Barking.

Putting perspective on a 45-year traveling show, consider: ice caps lasted 50 years before closing in 1995, while disney on ice It has been around for 40 years.

“50 years of Ice Capades is the iconic mark in show business,” said Howard. “We’re in between (Ice Capades and Disney on Ice) and when I read those stats I’m like, ‘Thank you PNE, thank you Vancouver, you’ve really made us one of the biggest entertainment groups in North America.’

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SuperDogs performs daily at 12:30, 2:30 and 6:00 pm at the Pacific Coliseum, free with PNE admission.

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