Several local towns will be going to the dogs this fall and that's a good thing.
For the 10th year, The National Dog Show will be coming to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA on Nov. 16 and 17 to record the canine competition that has become a Thanksgiving TV tradition watched by 20 million annually. While you can get tickets now from a new, improved website, you don't have to wait until November to start barking and wagging your tail with excitement.
Charity Dog Walk
The National Dog Show Charity Walk will be held Sunday, Oct. 13 at Wilson Farm Park in Wayne, PA. There, you can take your pups for a walk to raise money for charity; have them try out an agility course, and meet therapy dogs. They can even dress up for Halloween and compete in costume or tricks contests.
Of course the dog show itself is the highlight, with its more than 200 breeds, all of which spend time with their owners between competitions, so the public can walk among them, ask questions of their owners, pose for pictures and see what goes into getting a purebred ready to compete.
Therapy-Dog Symposium
In addition, this year there will be a National Dog show Therapy Dog Symposium, held Nov. 19 at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ for people who own, train or otherwise want to become involved with therapy dogs. The public is invited to come learn about therapy dogs, which are used at hospitals, nursing homes and even disaster areas to provide comfort to those suffering from illness, loss or loneliness.
Organizers include David Frei, co-host of The National Dog Show who founded the therapy-dog nonprofit Angel On A Leash.
“The use of therapy dogs in healthcare environments has expanded steadily over the past couple of decades,” said Frei. “There is so much scientific research supporting the benefits of the practice that the time has come to bring people together to facilitate additional growth.”
Joining Frei will be Michele Pich, assistant director of The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program at Rowan, which is being launched at the same time with the help of a $3 million gift from Gerry Shreiber, president and CEO of J&J Snack Foods in Pennsauken, NJ. Schreiber has funded pet therapy programs at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Virtua Hostpital locations in NJ.
