I slowly came to realize that there was indeed a very large annual dog show in San Francisco, and that my dream of meeting Pug breeders and their champion Pugs was within my grasp. With my girlfriend in tow I began a two year journey of visiting the Golden Gate Kennel Association dog show at the Cow Palace. Anyone who had attended this festival of canine worship can attest to what an amazing experience it is to see 80 or 90 examples of the breed you love strutting around in the show rings. Imagine seeing 80 pugs in one place. I almost fainted from the excitement of it all. But it was also extremely painful because I was watching all the breeders doting on their pug children, sashaying around proudly with their babies in tow, and still, I had no Pug baby!!! I had no idea how to get inside this subculture of dog breeders. But from reading and chatting with people at the dog shows I knew I had to somehow make friends with the breeders. They were very particular about who they would give their pugs to. You had to prove yourself.