Sponsorship opportunities are also available!  Please call David at 905-237-3000 or email info@poochparty.ca

Mayor Dave Barrow and Emrah Welcoming Guests of Pooch Party 2011 (photo by Laura Bernard)

If you found yourself at Richmond Green this past Sunday, you were likely inundated by hundreds of happy residents with mutts in tow… an obvious sign that Richmond Hill K9 Klub’s Pooch Party sponsored by PetValu Richmond Hill North was the place to be June 26th.  Enthusiastic  dog-lovers (with and without their furry friends) gathered to celebrate and educate themselves at our  venue that brought together  vendors, medical professionals and educators alike and provided a forum for our community to gather, share and enjoy.  After a lovely a cappella rendition of the National Anthem by Richmond Hill’s own Stephanie Baglione, Mayor Dave Barrow, accompanied by his Great Dane, Emrah, opened the celebration with a welcome address re-affirming the Town’s continued commitment to providing a place where entire families can enjoy off-leash time with their pets safely and sustainably.  The opening ceremony also included a very special presentation of resuscitation mask kits for animals manufactured by Invisible Fence and presented by the Vaughan-Richmond Hill Veterinary Emergency Clinic to the Richmond Hill Fire Department.  Every station in Richmond Hill will be equipped with these mask kits to be used in cases where a family pet suffers from smoke inhalation at the scene of a fire.  A truly amazing and precedent-setting program!

Agility Demonstration in Paddock (photo by Laura Bernard)

A variety of dog-friendly activities including vet talks, canine massage, obedience training and agility demonstrations and a host of fun-filled games in the Paddock that were co-sponsored by Global Pet Foods (Tower Hill and Major Mackenzie stores) were only a part of the draw for nearly 1000 visitors that attended the event throughout the day.   A definite highlight was the Fashion Showcase sponsored by FouFou Dog that featured many doggie-models sporting the latest trends in dog apparel, ‘strutting their stuff’ on the catwalk (?) to the cheers and applause of our visitors.  As the weather turned from overcast to sunny, many of our visitors found respite from the heat at the K9 Klub Kool Zone misting tent, where shade and an ample supply of fresh water for Fido allowed everyone to cool off.   And, just in case, our friends at St. John’s Ambulance were on site to make sure safety was paramount.

Some of the outside Vendor's Tents (photo by Laura Bernard)

Throughout the day, winning tickets were drawn for the raffle which included many prizes generously donated by our sponsors such as gift bags from Dog.Dogs.Dogs. and Starbucks, services from Vacation Dog Care and dog-friendly items from Muttluks among many others.  All in all, approximately two dozen prizes were raffled as part of our new ‘Pooch Party Passport Program’.  Guests making the rounds of our nearly 40 vendors received unique stickers and stamps for their event passport which entitled the bearer to a bright green loot bag of goodies donated by many of our retail vendors and sponsors such as PetValu and VitaLife-Made with Love Naturally.   All in all, the passport program was a huge success.

Some of the 32 Pooch Party Volunteer "Green Shirts" (photo by Laura Bernard)

Sponsorship support from Ward 4 Councillor Lynn Foster and Wilson-Niblett was very much appreciated and helped make our day at Richmond Green possible.  The event, however, could not have been possible without the hard work of our Pooch Party Committee and the 32 volunteers who feverishly attended to all that needed to be taken care of in order to keep our event safe and running smoothly.  Our crew of ‘green shirts’, most of whom were young students from local schools, assisted with everything from setup to refilling water bowls to bathroom breaks to tear-down and everything in-between.  The Pooch Party “Green Shirts” were as follows:  (in alphabetical order)  Jackie Bath, Christina Clemente, Wenna Deng, Ksenia Ekimova, Farnaz Fard, Blake Harris, Carole Hayes, Macy Hong, Brandon Iajecznyk, Michelle Innes, Jamey Knott, Justin Knott, Timothy Leung, Justin Majnarich, DeeJay Moore, Andrew Pisano, Chelsea Pisano, Pat Quinton, Alicia Sheng, Sangeetha Sreenivasan, Ziqing Su, Judy Tilley, Sabrina Trung, Marlene Vickers, Chase Walker, Dylan Walker, Bruce Wang, Jessica Wilson, Martin Yueye and Dustin Zhang. We could not have done it so smoothly without their help and enthusiasm.

We would be remiss if we didn’t take the time to acknowledge the hard-work and dedication of our very own Pooch Party Committee:  Wendy Walker, David Walker, Neal Nicholls, Dineen Beaven, Laura Bernard, Andre Beaumont, Adriana Pisano Beaumont, Amber Quibell and Lorraine Wilson.

Passport Program and Loot Bags at Pooch Party Tent (photo by Laura Bernard)

Please come back and check our site over the next few days for uploaded photos and more stories about the goings-on at the  Pooch Party.  Early feedback has been very positive and we look forward to hearing your unique experience in the comments!!  Time to start planning for Pooch Party 2012 !!!