The Anti-Cruelty Society - Chicago
Bark in the Park, 2005

Lots of cities have "Bark in the Park" events for various
animal or community fund raising.
If you're a dog lover and get a chance to attend...
GO!

It's a giant dog party. Such fun.
Here are the pics of my first chance to go...with Shelby.

 
 

(In the car, getting ready to go.)

Okay, Shelby! It's time to go...are you excited?

 
 

"It's 6:30 in the MORNING! I should be sleeping!

"Do I LOOK like I'm ready to go ANYWHERE?"

 
 

We arrive around 7:30 am to turn in our $525 worth of pledges. (Thanks SO much to those of you who contributed!)

Got our goodie registration bag and started checking out the other participants.

 
 

Lots of labs and retrievers having fun.

 
 

And lots of booths to check out, get info from various dog related companies and organizations, and pick up lots of doggie snacks, free toys, and purchase some goodies for later.

 
 

Wagging tails everywhere as the human participants get all their goodies collected.

 
 

Shelby got a free frisbee that made a nice dish to enjoy a few of his free snacks for breakfast.

 
 
More and more dogs are arriving.
 
Yup, it's getting busy and we near our 9am start.
 
Doggies getting a chance to meet up with their friends and greet new friends.
 
Don't know any of these people...just having fun taking shots of all the dogs and their humans.
 

Thankfully, it was nearly a perfect day for the walk. NOT too hot or sunny. Although the wind was a bit chilly off the lake...and breezy...it was a good day for walking and not getting overheated.

Lots of pretty black dogs who confused Shelby...thinking it was his pal Lexi.

 
Check out that fan tail...that dog looks a lot like Cassy.
 

Shelby busy checking out all the exciting action...and doing a LOT of bark, bark, bark, bark, barking!

I think he actually barked, non-stop for the first hour as we got settled in. NO need to ask if he was a Sheltie...he was proving the point and letting everyone know his story.

In fact, at one point, CLTV (Chicagoland TV) was filming Shelby as he barked with excitement...taking the term "Bark in the Park, literally.

 
Are you ready to go for a walk, Shelby?
 

A WALK??????

BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK!

(Translation: yes, yes, yes, yes!)

 
Here we go.
 
The words "Oops...sorry" and "No problem" were the terms of the day, as doggies had their own ideas of where they were going to walk!<lol>
 

One of the greatest things Chicago forefathers did was make sure the lakefront was always free to the public. So we have a beautiful and long-stretching lake front in which to walk.

 
 
And although it was a bit breezy along the lakefront, Shelby was trudging along.
 
As we round the park to Foster beach...lots of participants take a break to run across the sand and play in the COLD surf.
 

Six-month old Shelby has never seen sand...and today he learned a VALUABLE lesson...DON'T SNIFF SAND!

Blah!<sneeze, sneeze, sneeze!>

"Why didn't you TELL me this stuff can easily get sucked up your nose!"
 
The organizers (courtesy of Hinkley Springs water) did a great job making sure there was lots of water along the way for 2 and 4 legged participants...even a bunch of doggie pools at the end to cool down.
 
Here we are. We're nearly done with our 5K walk (3.2 miles).
 

Shelby (still barking as others pass by) taking a short break before we "dash" for the finish line.

Actually, this little pup was getting a bit pooped from this long walk. Shelties SHOULD have boundless energy, but I think he used up much of his barking for the first half of the walk.

 
Ah...rewards for a job well done!
 
And time to check out more way cool dogs.
 
Lots of friendly pals to pet.
 

Fun agility courses to see if your pal is an athlete.

What a pretty blue collie.

 
And this is his pal.
 
And a cute little guy...who was very friendly and has the softest ears.
 
HA...this guy was proudly displaying his Chicago Cubs hat.
 
ABC, Chicago's Channel 7, was one of the Bark in the Park sponsors. So Roz Varon (who I watch on TV every morning) was one of the Masters of Ceremony.
 
As was Channel 7's Mike Caplan, who I watch every afternoon.
 

I just wanted to get a picture of Roz and her dog.

She noticed and...

 
... brought over her sweet whippet for a photo.
 
But...very ironically, at this moment Mike is now giving away prizes. Right now, as I take this shot, he is announcing a big prize of a membership to Lincoln Park Zoo.
 

Roz picks the winner and they announce the number...766.

Humm...that sounds familiar!

I check my shirt and realize *I* am # 766...I won! HA...how cool.

You had to be present to win and Shelby and I JUST HAPPENED to walk up at that moment!

How cool. And since Stacy (my daughter) lives just a few mins from Lincoln Park Zoo...I gave her the membership to enjoy this summer.

 
Another nice shot of Roz and her "baby."
 
Time for some fun dog-watching as folks relax after the walk and watch dog tricks and judge look-alike contests.
 
There was also a doggie costume parade, so lots of doggies were dressed for the event.
 
You could find every type of dog.
 
And most all were very friendly and anxious to say hello.
 

This pupper was SO CUTE.

Unfortunately, just as I attempted to take his pic...he attention turned elsewhere.

 
HA...how fun!
 
Ahh...how cute.
 
Notice the pup in the back, relaxing. How cute.
 
Lots of mountain dogs. Love those faces...like they're always smiling.
 
And lots of costumes.
 
Lots of big dogs.
 
Lots of Goldens, everywhere. Or little guys thinking they're goldens.
 
Shelby enjoying a little more snacking.
 

And some older dogs who needed a little help to make the trip.

Note...I saw one little dog who had back leg problems, so he had a cart with wheels serving as his back legs. But what was really cute was his license plate: BRN2RUN

(Translation: Born to Run...and he WAS moving right along.)
 
Cute shot of the kid in the back hugging her pal.
 
And this Golden sitting in mom's lap!<lol>
 
A look-alike contestant?
 
Nice shot of Shelby's tail, eh?<g>
 
And here's another happy mountain dog. Too cute.
 
And speaking of cute...Shelby checks out this cart of bull dog pups.
 

Time to go.

As we start heading to the parking lot...this big dog was so cute.

But yet again...the minute I get ready to snap...he turned away!<sigh>

 

The winner of the biggest dog contest!<g>

And funny how many dogs walked by this police horse barking because they couldn't figure out what this creature was!

But, of course, this horse was bomb proof so he patiently put up with all the barking dogs who walked by him.

 

Good job, Shelby!

Hope you had fun...you did a great job. Time to go home now.

BARF!

Ah...thanks for waiting until you got in the CAR to hurl.<sigh>