By Shannon Edinger
Tails will be wagging when The Shops at Wiregrass hosts the second annual Dogtoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 2-6 p.m. Admission is free, and organizers are encouraging dog lovers to bring their animals and enjoy live music, pet costume contests, adoptions and more.
Jeanine Cohen is organizing the event on behalf of a nonprofit all volunteer charity, Animal Based Charities Inc.
“So far, there are 40-plus rescue groups attending, and we will have over 500 cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens available for adoption,” Cohen said.
There will be pet costume contests with categories such as cutest dog, scariest dog and most festive dog, to name a few. There will be more than $1,000 in prizes at the event, and everyone who enters his or her dog into the contest will receive free gelato from 365 Caffe Italiano.
Also, the first 50 pets signed up for any contest will receive $10 microchips from a veterinarian on location.
There will be pet product vendors and kid-friendly activities at the event such as face painting and balloon artists.
“We want people to come out and support our charities,” Cohen says. “We had an event in February where we had 500 adoptions in five hours and we want to do that again.”
The Shops at Wiregrass is located at 28211 Paseo Dr. in Wesley Chapel. For more information, contact Jeanine Cohen at (813) 625-2405 or email .
