Masses of Bassets and Poodles This Weekend

September is a perfect time to put on a silly dog event. Now that the weather has cooled, we have two great events this weekend: a basset hound waddle in Illinois and a poodle party in New Hampshire.

In Illinois this weekend, we’ve got a nice basset hound waddle. Around the country basset breed rescue groups raise money to save dogs by having parades. Typically, a rescue group –in this case Guardian Angel Basset Rescue–gloms onto a small town parade–here it’s Dwight, IL’s Harvest Days. The bassets quickly become the star of the show–even though they are uniquely ill-suited to parading, what with their sloth, girth and enthusiasm for saying hi to everyone. You can absolutely go basset-less, have a great time and say hi to as many bassets as you want.

I’ve gone to the Dwight Waddle, riding on the basset coattails of my sister’s goofy dog Bacon. You’ll see a sea of bassets; they hope for 1,000 this year. And they have plenty of hounds up for adoption. My sister is going and I hope she falls in love with one. Next week the Calgary Basset Rescue Network (see their Facebook fan page) has its fourth annual waddle .

On the east coast, Crabapple Downs‘ 60-acre Poodle Farm has its annual Poodle Party weekend. You don’t have to have a poodle bred here, but they do want you to have a poodle. It’s their ninth year and they’ve got a dog dancing class this year. I got to stay up at Crabapple Downs this summer with our dog Jolly. Arlene Mills couldn’t have been more understanding of the needs of a senior dog. I wish I had gotten Jolly up there when he was younger and could’ve enjoyed all the trails, ponds and running with poodles.

• Want to see if there’s a silly dog event near you? Check out this animaltourism map.
• Another great, marginally animal-related event this weekend? Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. My favorite etsy animal artists, Ryan and Lucy Berkeley, will be there.

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