Water Ridge Park was turned into a dog park for one day, as the Humboldt SPCA hosted their annual Dog Day in the Park.
The Aug. 26 event, which was also national dog day, is a fundraiser for the Humboldt SPCA with the money from the event going to pay for any potential vet bills that might come up, and the rest of the money being added to their ongoing building fund, says Wanda Price with the Humboldt SPCA.
In addition to raising money, the SPCA also brought a number of their own dogs to the park, hoping to find a home for some of them.
This year, they were able to find a home for two of their puppies, which was awesome, says Price.
“A little sad, but it’s good. I was happy with two.”
In addition to having dogs in the park, there were a number of things to do for the whole family including a tradeshow, face painting, games, a concession, sparkle tattoos, dog competition, and live entertainment, among others.
The tradeshow, was very well attended this year, notes Price who says they had 24 vendors, marking their largest number yet, thanks in large part to expanding the tradeshow to include any vendors.
“When we did it in previous years all I ever looked for was groomers, dog stuff but I think this is a good idea and so I think we’ll continue to do that and grow it a little bigger,” says Price.
It was a busy day with many people and dogs bustling about, which was great to see, says Price, noting they had dogs of all breeds and sizes.
“Hopefully it went well for everybody and they’ll all want to come back again.”
After being rained out during part of last year’s event, the SPCA and Dog Day in the Park was blessed with terrific weather this year, which was great to see, says Price.
“What a nice day, I didn’t think it was going to be this warm but better than rain.”
Overall, Price was very pleased with how the day went, noting that the vendors said they had a good day, and everyone seemed to be having fun.
A large part of the success of Dog Day in the Park were the many volunteers who helped out over the course of the day, which was a big help, says Price, who notes they would not be able to host the event without the volunteers.
“Just want to thank everybody that came out and all the volunteers that helped and Tami (Harms) for all the work she did to get this as big as it is today. It was great,” says Price.
Looking ahead to next year, Price says they may be starting the day a little differently as they may start the day with a pancake breakfast at A&W before walking the dogs down highway 5 to Water Ridge Park, where the Dog Day in the Park festivities will kick off.
