Doggy Day Out judged a winner

Doggy Day Out in Te Puke on Saturday is being hailed as the best ever in the five years of the event’s history.

Up to 200 dogs and 500 people attended the event at Jubilee Park, hosted by Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

“It was great to see so many people and an amazing array of dogs come along. This event is certainly growing in popularity by the year,” says Council’s spokesperson Alison Curtis.

“The Mount Agility Club performance was very popular – this club is a great mainstay of our event – as are the regular vendors and retail outlets who take the opportunity to be part of the day.

“We’re proud to run this event annually and have Farmlands support our event this year. It is a great opportunity to promote responsible dog ownership, dog welfare, dog training, give dog owners the chance to socialise with other owners and talk to the experts about dog-related issues.”

MC for the day, Hamuera Hudson, Performing Arts Tutor at Te waananga of Aotearoa, kept the music humming and the crowds entertained, along with Marshall from Paw Patrol and the team at the Western Bay Libraries activity tent.

The kennel raffle was won by local dog owner Val Baker – who with her Bernese mountain dog, is a regular attendee of Doggy Day Out events.

The prize kennel - Whare Kaitiaki, meaning House Guard - was inspired by the carvings of the wharenui –the ancestral meeting house. It pays homage to the duty, love and affection for dogs as our guardians - Nga Kaitiaki.

Council’s five adoptee dogs were at the event and attracted a lot of attention with at least two of them possibly finding their new forever homes.

Doggy Day Out is part of Council’s Wander Dog calendar of summer walks. The remaining walks are:

• 29 February, 10am Anzac Bay Waihi Beach
• 14 March – 10am Waipuna Park, Welcome Bay, a combined Western Bay and Tauranga City council walk
• 11 April, 10am Dogs in Togs, Te Puke Memorial Pools.