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Pet-A-Palooza a good reason to ‘pawse’ this weekend in Victoria

Puppies, goats, wiener dog races and more on the grounds of St. Ann’s Academy Aug. 18-19
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Victoria’s 8th annual Pet-A-Palooza is coming to town this weekend! One of the favourite events is the “running of the bulls” where English and French bull dogs go for a short race. File contributed/Red Bark Photography

It’s the dog days of summer for Victorians this weekend as the eighth annual Pet-A-Palooza takes place at St. Ann’s Academy.

The free two-day festival runs Aug. 18-19 and is open to everyone and their pets.

“We encourage people to make sure it’s the right fit for their dog,” says event organizer Jordan Illingworth. “Just make sure that they’re up to date on vaccines and good in crowds.”

“We’ve had a lot of different animals; goats, birds, cats and ferrets,” Illingworth says. “It’s canine dominated but everyone is welcome if they’re good with dogs.”

The festival will bring back popular events like the “running of the bulls” where French and English bulldogs race, as well as the wiener dog races, the puppy stampede – where dogs of any breed under six months can participate – and the dock dive competition.

There will also be puppy and goat yoga six times per day, for a cost of $15. All profits from the yoga classes will benefit the Victoria Humane Society, and all puppies involved are up for adoption. Anyone interested in the yoga is encouraged to pre-register online.

“We have 25 different rescue organizations and non-profits,” Illingworth says. “We definitely encourage people to come down to visit them. There will be a microchip clinic by donation and amazing raffles and prizes.”

Visitors will also be able to participate in the “pawsport” scavenger hunt. Owners and their dogs need to visit eight different Grandpaw’s Treats stations to get stamps, and then bring the pawsports back to the Paws on Cook Street station to enter to win a year’s supply of food, treats and poop bags.

Pet-A-Palooza began in Victoria in 2010 and has since spread to Calgary and Vancouver. In its seventh year, there were 18,000 people and nearly 10,000 dogs visiting over the weekend, so a busy eighth year is anticipated.

For more information you can visit petapaloozawest.com

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com

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Victoria’s 8th annual Pet-A-Palooza is coming to town this weekend! One of the favourite events is the dock diving competition, where dogs are tested for distance, height, and how fast they can retrieve a toy. File contributed