Today, four-legged friends and families in the Auburn community gathered to celebrate responsible dog ownership at Bark in the Park. Bark in the Park is a welcoming, free-of-charge event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kiesel Park, hosted by Auburn Parks and Recreation and The Lee County Humane Society.
Bark in the Park is a dog-friendly event catered towards dog owners with over 30 different vendors, selling food, dog accessories, grooming services, veterinary hospital services and even providing a bouncy house and face paint for the little ones.
PetVet Animal Health Center, Zoom to Groom, Kona Ice, RTN Dog Training Co. and Butcher Paper BBQ were just a few of the different vendors Bark in the Park invited to join the event.
The Lee County Humane Society, one of the event hosts, held their dog adoption day to bring awareness for rescuing and their need for volunteers, foster parents and donations.
Carli Massey, volunteer for The Lee County Humane Society, said, “We’re just showing everybody we have these dogs available, and while they might not get adopted here today, it definitely lets everybody know there’s a humane society in Auburn and that we always need fosters, more volunteers and of course, adoptions.”
Massey also mentioned that the humane society offered free microchip implants for dogs needing one.
Students from Auburn University were also involved as vendors at this event, offering treats for slobber. Addie Hill, bio-chem major, conducted student-led research to make a database for other students to collect their dog's DNA and discover their dog's breed.
“We do student-led research with dog DNA. We thought this was a perfect time since we’re not funded to come out here. If the dogs want to give us a little slobber, we give them a treat," Hill said. "We are making a database so that in lab, the students can bring their dog’s DNA and match it to the database and figure out what kind of dog they have.”
PetVet Animal Health Center joined as a Bark at the Park vendor to serve their community, provide care and inform dog owners who stopped by their table about animal health and care.
Kyleigh Speed, veterinarian at PetVet, said they have been doing Bark in the Park for almost 10 years.
“This is essentially just a way for us to see the community, get out there, and just meet and greet people. We show and talk to them about what we do and want to have a great day seeing the community," Speed said.
It was a bright and beautiful day to host this event, and hundreds of people and furry friends came in and out to get in tune with nature and their community. Live music was constantly playing, children were getting their faces painted and firefighters and police brought their dogs along.
David Carter and his family came out to the park today, not knowing what to expect.
“We found the event on Facebook, but we had no idea it would be as big as it was. I thought it would be just a regular dog park and a small get-together," Carter said.
Luckily for Carter and his family, it turned out to be a great, unexpected adventure on a Saturday afternoon with his dogs and daughter.
Each vendor offered something different, and Pampered Pets Boutique did not disappoint.
Kelly Johnson, owner of Pampered Pets Boutique, sells apparel, leashes, and offers grooming and boarding services.
“We have been in business for 18 years in Opelika, and we’ve been doing this event for quite a few years. We have a boutique with a lot of dog apparel, shampoos, collars, leashes and clothes," Johnson said. "We are also a full-service grooming salon, a main boarding daycare and mobile grooming.”
Johnson says her poodle is her “Barbie Dog,” coloring her with bright colors every year to show support for the event.
There was something for everyone today who made it out to the event, and for all of those unable to make it out today, Bark in the Park is planning on holding another event in the fall.
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Jolie Bishop, culture editor for The Auburn Plainsman is a senior in marketing with a minor in journalism. She has been with The Plainsman since summer of 2022.
