Dogs have their day at Abbey Farms in Aurora

The dog days of summer remain a few weeks away, but not at Abbey Farms in Aurora, as the not-for-profit farm offered its third annual Dog Daze event on Saturday.

The farm noted that “leashed, well-behaved dogs” were welcome to attend the pet-focused program which included a number of vendors selling dog-related items as well as seven local rescue groups offering pets for adoption.

The event also included live demonstrations and more.

Karin Kietzman of West Chicago, who has a daughter who volunteers at a dog rescue facility, said she wanted to attend the event at Abbey Farms.

“I have two dogs and four cats and while my daughter isn’t working here today I wanted to come out,” Kietzman said as she stood shading her eyes from the bright sunshine that emerged late Saturday morning. “I’m glad to see a pet fair. It’s amazing and there are so many pets out there that don’t have homes, so it’s great.”

Phil Nork, associate director for the farm, said the focus of the day included “getting the word out that our park is open.”

“We’re also selling all sorts of dog-related items on our front lawn and we have dogs for adoption. We want people to come out and bring their dog and have a great time,” Nork said. “In terms of vendors, we have over 30 with everything from blankets and bandanas to scarves to treats to portraits of your dog. Anything to do with dogs, the vendors are here selling it.”

The vendor participation has grown at the event with just five vendors the first year, he said, followed by 12 during the second year.

“Last year, we had four rescue companies come out and this year we have seven, so this entire event has continued to really expand,” Nork said. “Our store is open with dog stuff plus our regular jellies and jams and our cafe is selling hamburgers and chicken sandwiches.”

The farm’s parking lot was packed within the first hour of the event on Saturday, including many visitors with dogs.

Laura Moore of the Animal Rescue Foundation of Illinois was pulling a cart that included three small dogs that she said “needed to have some air-conditioning because my puppies are hot.”

“We’re here as we want to get these beautiful puppies adopted,” Moore explained. “Most of the time when we come to something like this we eventually find someone to adopt them. We’ve been here every year.”

AmyLynn Weiten of Morris said she came to the farm because she “loves dogs and there’re a lot of rescues and we wanted to play with a lot of the dogs.”

“I’d like to take one home but I don’t think I can talk anyone into it,” she said, referring to her cousin and boyfriend that accompanied her. “I have one dog and my cousin has three. I also want to visit the vendors and see what they have. I found this on Facebook and actually went to Rosary which is the sister high school of Marmion so I knew about the farm.”

Weiten’s boyfriend Richard Cotten of Romeoville said he doesn’t own a dog but that he “loves animals and always want to support shelters.”

“If I was to get a dog, it would definitely be from a shelter. There’s so many pets to adopt,” he said. “Awareness of dogs that need homes is publicized more and people share ideas through social media and it increases the awareness.”

Hannahh Johnson of Batavia said she wanted to bring her son out to “see the dog show since we have a dog at home.”

“We have an old doggie at home and we want to see the products and the adoption dogs and I heard they are having a show later,” she said. “We have a 12½-year-old rescue ourselves who has been a part of every portion of our life – every stage – marriage, kids – he’s been there for it all.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.