Every person and their dog headed to the Mount Gambier Railway Lands on Sunday under pawfect summer conditions for a tail wagging time.
The inaugural ‘For The Love of Dogz’ event attracted more than 100 people and pooches to raise money for the South East Animal Welfare League (SEAWL) through the sale of raffle tickets, doggie fun bags, entry from the come and try obstacle course and a site fee paid by stallholders, while donations of pet food and goods were accepted on the day.
Event organiser Karen Brooksby said the day was held to demonstrate the diverse roles of dogs aside from being loving pets.
“The focus was just to have stalls and people involved in being a part of the day so that we can showcase how important pets and dogs are in our daily lives,” she said.
“Not just as pets but as assistance dogs, companion dogs and therapy dogs visiting people in the hospital which is only such a small slice of dogs that are out there in Australia and the world working.
“The come and try obstacle course was about introducing dogs to something they are a bit unfamiliar with but giving them confidence and also teaching the owner some very basic cues on how they can set up a similar course in their own backyard.
“The stallholders I have talked to have been pleased. A lot of these people are regular die-hard stall holders so I was very appreciative they wanted to come on board for this cause and they have been nothing but amazing with their kindness and support.
Ms Brooksby said the organising group had gained some insights from the inaugural event and will use people’s feedback to identify strengths and areas for improvement in the coming years.
“We would definitely like to do it again in another year’s time and we hope next year to draw a bigger crowd.”
Some of the dog focussed stalls included Greyhounds As Pets, Reading Dogs, Collie Park and Mount Gambier Vets.
There were dog agility demonstrations and novelty events including the dog parade, fancy dress, best dog tricks, egg and spoon race, red carpet and sit, stay, snap.
The humans were catered for with coffee and ice cream vans, market stalls, a kid’s corner, face painting and hair braiding.
ATR Dog Training and Behaviourist owner Roger Langstone held information and training sessions focussing on responsible pet ownership, socialisation/meet and greet and dog recall.
