Dog Day Afternoon 2013

As I mentioned here, we love taking Lily to doggie events. This past weekend we went to Dog Day Afternoon, a free annual event held in Columbia, MD. The weather was great for this event last year, albeit a bit on the hot side, and this year we really lucked out and got the same beautiful sunshine and clear skies with a slightly cooler, more comfortable temperature. The event ran from 11am-2pm. We arrived around 12:30pm and, after signing in, were greeted by this sign detailing the day's schedule of events:

I'm a little bummed we missed the biscuit eating contest; I'm pretty sure Lily would have had no problem winning that one.

Lots of dog-related businesses, rescue groups, and other community organizations had booths at the event. Lily had a great time walking all around the big field in which the event is held and visiting each and every booth. She was particularly gratified that the people manning each booth almost all had treats that they were happy to share with her.

This mobile pet spa was offering nail trims for $10. We just had Lily's nails trimmed about a week ago, but our friends got their dog's nails done.

free pet ID tags sponsored by Russel Subaru

magnets for sale at the Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue booth to raise money for their rescue efforts

tennis balls (and more magnets) for sale at the Chocolate Chip Dalmatian Assistance League booth to raise money for their rescue efforts

Great price for microchipping. They were also scanning already microchipped dogs for free to ensure that the microchip was still in place; we got Lily scanned and they found her chip easily!

Lily also enjoyed greeting all of the other dogs walking around with their families.

Lily discovering that no matter how badly she may want to, some dogs' butts are just too high off the ground to sniff.

One of the most popular "booths" (with the dogs, anyway) was the doggie "ice cream" truck. We ran into some friends at the event, and they bought a cup of the "ice cream" (really dog-friendly frozen yogurt) for their dogs, who lost interest in it pretty quickly. So, they generously offered it to us. Lily, of course, was more than happy to help out by finishing it for them.

There were also two off-leash areas, so Lily got to run around (okay, mostly she walked around, sniffed, and then sat on her butt) in one of those as well.

We love that the Columbia Association sponsors this event for the community; it's a great opportunity for pooches and their people to get out and enjoy the lovely spring weather together!