Pet Rock Festival

Pet Rock Festival was this past weekend at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. It has been called "the largest animal expo on the East Coast," and takes place every year. I was excited to help out for a couple hours at the entrance passing out program guides and greeting human & animal guests alike.Well... Cmon, I was reallyyyyy there to snuggle dogs all day!

        Of course the stars of Pet Rock Festival are the doggies, but the animal welfare organizations doing outreach and fundraising are the true heroes! Among the many (100+)  organizations involved were Maple Farm Sanctuary, Rhode Island Vegan Awareness, New England Primate Sanctuary, The Humane Society, Worcester Animal Rescue League, Kitty   Angels, and Second Chance Animal Shelter.

        I saw more dogs in once place than I'd ever seen... all shapes, sizes, breeds, colors and personalities. There were booths with information for horse, rabbit & cat-people to check out too. Just scoping out the sweeet dogs was exciting enough, but the music, pet contests, pet parade and kids activities kept the crowd busy all afternoon. With the dog-kissing booth there was a chance to get a little romance in as well.

        The Pet Rock "food court" sponsored by the Boston Vegetarian Society included a variety of options. My picks: Cafe of India (Harvard Sq. Cambridge, MA,) and Loving Hut (Chandler St. Worcester, MA) which were both serving up the vegan goodness. For lunch I had a plate from Cafe Of India including rice and samosas with potatoes & veggies.

        Whether you are veg or just a dog lover, educating the community about responsible pet ownership and reducing the suffering of animals was an important   topic on everyone's minds this weekend at Pet Rock.