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photos and article by Holly McKelvey

Sierra Madre local Grant Derderian holds Feldman,
one of the dogs up for adoption at Doggie Day

Carson, the Starbucks Barista dog

Dozens of dog owners congregated Saturday at Sierra Vista Park for Sierra Madre’s First Annual Doggie Day. Organizers agreed that the turnout was great, especially for a first-time event.

The event, which has existed on a smaller scale for several years, offering vaccinations and dog washes to neighborhood pooches, teamed up with Starbucks this time around for a real doggie jamboree.

A highlight of the event was the First Annual Doggie Costume Contest. Prizes were awarded to three size categories: small, medium and large. Costumes ranged from intricate to nonexistent – at Doggie Day it’s enough of a costume just to be cute.

Winners included Rody, a horse in the Kentucky Derby, complete with a master, Sierra Madre local Nina Higgins, dressed as a jockey, and Carson, a Starbucks employee.

Winners of the medium dog costume contest, Sierra Madre local
Nina Higgins with dog Rody, dressed as a horse from the Kentucky Derby

Many nearby dog organizations made an appearance, from nonprofit rescue organizations to local Sierra Madre storeowners to well-known companies such as PetCo.

Many of the rescue organizations brought their dogs to the park. The dogs appeared to enjoy being outside and meeting other dogs, not to mention all the attention they got from prospective families.

According to event coordinator Elisa Weaver, the city’s Deputy Director of Community & Personnel Services, many people look for dog adoption events, and Doggie Day offers them exactly what they want: a way to find out about small rescue organizations they might not have otherwise heard of.

Aussie Rescue, a rescue organization for Australian Shepherds, came all the way down from Sacramento for this event.

Some dog owners were taking advantage of the vaccinations, others the dog wash. Then of course there were those who just cruised the booths and shared the free dog treats with their pooches.

The dog wash, which has been held for a number of years, was run by the Interact Club, a branch of the Rotary Club for teenagers in Sierra Madre. This year it was raising money to help remodel the playhouse of a local school and to feed people at a mission, according to club members at the event.

The owners appeared to have as much fun as their dogs.

“I like seeing the dogs interact with each other,” said Monrovia resident Shirley Pease, who was there with her own dog, Samuel Edward.

Added their friend, “I think a lot of people would come again.”