Creating a Better City for Pets | A Dog-Friendly Guide to Large Events

On Saturday, we visited The Wharf in Washington, DC for the first time since its opening. We attended the Petalpalooza event, part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, on a cold but action packed day. We were so excited to see all of the cherry blossoms, stores, and people, but we were a little nervous about taking Navy to the Festival. We do not always like taking Navy to large events for a long period because she can sometimes get a little anxious in large crowds (#yapqueen).

We were so excited to hear that this year the Festival partnered with Mars Petcare’s Better Cities for Pets program to educate the people of DC and help the Festival be more pet-friendly. Better Cities for Pets supported the Petalpalooza event, which included a model pet-friendly city to offer information to humans and give the pups waste bags, water, relief stations, and treats (the best part) at comfort stations throughout the festival. Their information helped educate attendees on the importance of creating pet-friendly spaces in cities and a vision of what apartments, businesses, shelters and outdoor areas could look like. Check out the Better Cities for Pets website to learn more about their program and the 12 traits of pet-friendly communities.

Whenever our little family attends large events, we first to go the official event webpage to look for any pet related information. It is important to remember that even though an event may say that it is pet-friendly, not all activities may be. Mars Petcare and the Better Cities for Pets program went above and beyond in providing Festival attendees with helpful information on pet-friendly Festival events, awareness of their pet-friendly movement, and some important pet tips as well. We definitely recommend bookmarking this page to review before attending any large event with your pet!

It is important to remember to be prepared for your pet – your pet cannot pack its own to-go bag! The Better Cities for Pets program made sure to keep the Festival stocked with hydration stations, waste bags, and relief areas throughout the area. Even though there are relief stations at many events, we always keep a few poop bags stashed away, just in case Navy needs to relieve herself away from a relief station.

If you are out and on the move during the Festival or any other event, be sure to hydrate! Bring a water bottle and a portable bowl for your pet. While at the model pet-friendly city, Better Cities for Pets told us this important note, “your pet needs more water than you do, so if you are thirsty, your pup was probably thirsty an hour ago!” We also like to pack a few high protein treats when we go to events so that Navy can keep her energy up throughout the event.

One of the best tips on the Better Cities for Pets website was to be your dog’s best advocate. If you know your pup doesn’t do well in a festival type environment, it may not be the best idea to bring your pup. The National Cherry Blossom Festival itself brings in thousands of people per day. In addition, many of those people bring small children and pets. If your pet does not do well with children or other animals, it may be a good idea to leave your pup at home. As Better Cities for Pets states on their website, “Pets can’t speak for themselves. You can help.”

Petalpalooza was an amazing, action packed event for the whole family (pets included)! If you are in the area, we definitely recommend going next year–you know we will certainly be there! We want to thank the Cherry Blossom Festival, Mars Petcare, and Better Cities for Pets for an amazing job at keeping the Festival pet-friendly.

We hope to see you next year!

-Alex, Zach and Navy