Enjoy The Best Dog-Friendly Events This April

There are so many dog-friendly events this April, plus important initiatives to support. We’ve put together a list of all the great stuff coming up so that you can get a jump on planning the month with your dog and join us on social media and in person!

Themes and Initiatives This Month:

National Adopt a Greyhound Month

National Heartworm Awareness Month

National Pet First Aid Awareness Month

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month

Prevention of Lyme Disease in Dogs Month

Important Weeks:

International Pooper Scooper Week –

April 1-7th

Who is celebrating the pooping & scooping with us? – For me, this takes place 365 days of the year!

Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week-

April 9-15, 2017

The second full week in April is a time to appreciate the invaluable work that Animal Control Officers do, keeping us and our pets safe and often even playing a big part in making sure lost pets get home safely. We see you and we appreciate you!

National Pet ID Week –

April 16-23rd, 2017

The third full week of April is National Pet ID week and its a time to think about, if you haven’t already, getting your pet properly tagged and microchipped. This way, should they ever go missing you have the best odds of them being properly identified and getting home safe. If your pets are already microchipped also make sure that your contact information is up to date on all their files!

The Best Pet-Friendly Events This Month in Ontario:

Yappy Hour at PawsWay

Thu, April 6, 7pm – 10pm

Purina PawsWay, 245 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2K9, Canada

Hosted by George Brown College, Yappy Hour is a night all about your four-legged best friends! Enjoy free ice cream from Kawartha Dairy, a sample of Crazy Uncle all natural hard root beer and hors d’oeurves while shopping with our amazing dog vendors. Proceeds from Yappy Hour will go towards Save Me Dog Rescue as well as George Brown College Student Scholarships!

Canadian Pet Expo & Easter Weekend

April 14-16, Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm

The International Center, 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga Ontario

Whether you’re coming to the Canadian Pet Expo with us or staying home eating Carob (a dog-safe chocolate substitute) eggs with your dog, this long weekend is sure to be a blast for everyone!

The CPE is always pet-friendly and well behaved on-leash pets are welcome, so bring your fur babies and enjoy seeing all the cool vendors, shows and activities lined up.

We’ll be there organizing activities and filming for Kids’ Pet Club and Talent Hounds.

It’s also not too late to enter our giveaway and win a day pass to the expo for you and your family! See that post HERE.

After The Track Greyhound Adoption Events

On Saturday April 22nd at Pet Valu Six Points Plaza from 10am – 3pm 3843 Bloor St. W Etobicoke, ON

And Sunday April 23rd at Pet Valu Applewood Plaza from 11am – 3pm 1077 North Service Road Mississauga, ON

Meet some of the pups and peeps of After the Track at these Pet Valu locations and learn about greyhound adoption & ownership and pet some dogs. After the Track will also be at the CPE!

Other Adoption Events at Pet Valu Stores across Ontario

April 22 & 23rd Pet Valu is celebrating National Pet Adoption Weekend and hosting a different rescue at each of their stores. Stop by any Pet Valu location and discover different rescues as well as some locations also offering things like microchip clinics and discounted nail trimmings!

Days:

Every Day is Tag Day – April 1st (First Saturday in April)

A day dedicated to encouraging pet owners to tag and microchip their pets. Keep your pets safe and have that extra security in place should they ever get lost.

National Dog Fighting Awareness Day – April 8th

For what will be the third time this year the ASPCA is working hard to raise awareness about the horribly brutal world of dog fighting and encouraging everyone to #gettough on dog fighting and put a stop to it. If you’re an American you can join the ASPCA in supporting legislation to cut through the red tape on this issue by filling out a form to send to your local representative here.

In Ontario, you can support Dog Tales Rescue in saving ex-fighting rescues.

National Pet Day – April 11th

If you don’t already do this every day, take the day on April 11th to appreciate your pets and as always seize this opportunity to encourage those around you to volunteer, adopt and save a life if they can!

Pet Owners Independence Day – April 18th

The idea behind this holiday is kind of whacky but we think it’s amazing- Pet Owners Independence Day is a day when pets and their owners trade places and the idea is that you get to stay home and take a long nap on the carpet while your dog goes into work and responds to all those lengthy emails. If anyone manages to pull this switch off please be sure to tell us about it in the comments!

National Lost Dog Awareness Day – April 23rd

The fourth annual National Lost Dog Awareness Day. Shelters and rescues across the United States use this day to bring attention to the many dogs in their care who have family looking for them.

Your participation on this day will benefit your community because:

Getting lost dogs home reduces stress on the owner and the dog, and
Reduces work for staff at shelters/animal control facilities and rescues, which
Saves taxpayers’ money for animal care, and
Opens up cage and kennel space for truly homeless dogs.

It also shows individuals with lost dogs that their community cares!

International Guide Dog Day – April 26th

A day for recognizing the incredible impact that so many guide dogs have on their owner’s lives. If you have a guide dog or know someone who does, take a minute on this day to thank them for their service!

National Kids and Pets Day – April 26th

“This special day was created in 2005 by Celebrity Family & PetLifestyle Expert, mother, pet lover and former EMT/Medic, Colleen Paige. National Kids & Pets Day is dedicated to furthering the magical bond between children and animals, to help bring awareness to the plight of pets in shelters awaiting new homes and educating the public about safety between children and pets.”- From Colleen’s website

We are particularly excited about it this year as we are working on our Documentary about Kids and Dogs, and launching on our exciting new passion project Kids’ Pet Club with the support of The Bell Fund, The OMDC, and Ethnic Channels Group.

Free Feral Cat Spay Day – April 27th

Alley Cat Rescue (ACR) founded Free Feral Cat Spay Day in 2010 to encourage the veterinary community and the public to end cat homelessness and to decrease shelters’ euthanasia rates by practicing trap-neuter-return (TNR). The Toronto Humane Society offers this service 5 days a week though so you don’t even have to wait until the 27th to make a difference in this community!

Hairball Awareness Day – April 28th

Another predominantly cat-themed day. You can observe National Hairball Day by becoming educated about this condition and, if you have one, share your love for your cat using #HairballAwarenessDay on social media.

World Veterinary Day – April 29th

To celebrate the World Veterinary Day (WVD) that will take place globally on 29 April 2017, the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are organizing the World Veterinary Day Award to reward the most successful contribution by the veterinary profession on the selected theme for 2017. The theme this year is Antimicrobial Resistance- From Awareness to Action and you can read more about it in the OIE’s press release about the day.

Bulldogs are Beautiful Day – April 30th

If you have a bulldog, this may be every day for you, but on April 30th I think we can all find a little extra appreciation for these dogs that absolutely are beautiful every day of the year!

National Pet Parent’s Day – April 30th

Another day for you this month! If you didn’t manage to get your dog to work in your place on Pet Owner’s Independence day, maybe you’ll get lucky on the 30th and they’ll bake you a cake?

National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day – April 30th

Finally, even while we’re celebrating that Kilo the Pug, Beau and Rocky all have Forever homes on our team and Sydney is fostering this month, we should also always be celebrating and remembering to raise awareness about the thousands of pets still in shelters today awaiting their forever homes. So maybe take to social media a little on this day to remind people to #adoptdontshop #rescuesrock!