Colts Neck Pet Fair A Great Week-End Event For The Family

We decided to drive down to Colts Neck on Saturday August 30th to check out the Colts Neck Pet Fair.  The fair sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Monmouth County SPCA was held at the Bucks Mill Park in Colts Neck, New Jersey.  Unfamiliar with the park, we did get lost on our way there because their instructions and signage to the event was, well, inadequate but we did finally arrive with the help of our iPad’s GPS.

The park was beautiful and it was an overcast day, so it was the right day to visit this event.  We took our little guy Georgie, our Chihuahua/Jack Russel mix with us and he simply loved meeting all the other dogs and smelling all the wonderful things dogs love to smell.

There were a number of animal rescue groups in attendance and the Blood Center of New Jersey ran a blood drive on site on the Saturday.  It was a great day to attend the event because it wasn’t overcrowded with thousands of people and you had a chance to see the shows and demonstrations. that included a medieval jousting tournament by the Silver Knights Jousting Troupe, a dog diving contest in the huge dock diving pool set up for the event.

Some of the Participants We Visited

OMC, Only Main Coon Cats, They rescue Maine Coon Cat / Kitten mixes from shelters and unwanted situations. On occasion, they even rescue purebred (PB) Maine Coon Cat / Kitten(s).

The Main Coon cat is a wonderful, large, furry cat with the intelligence of a dog.  This cat is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, the Maine Coon cat is known as the “Gentle Giant” of cats. They are tall, muscular, big-boned cats. Males commonly reach 13 to 18 pounds, with females normally weighing about 9 to 12 pounds. Add to that two or three inches of winter coat, and you have one big looker on your hands! With a splendid long coat, a large rough, big tufted ears, giant mitts (many coonies are polydactyl), and a glorious bushy plumed tail that is the trademark of the Maine Coon, you have a stunning cat.

My son has a Main Coon that he rescued years ago and this cat is as smart or smarter than most dogs.  He understands commands, is playful and probably understands more words than some humans I know.  Wonderful companion, but get ready with the lint brush 🙂

Glad Dogs Nation…They believe that Every Dog Deserves Great Toys…and the way they get them is through donations of stuffed toys through the efforts of caring individuals and businesses, community groups, schools, Girl/Boy Scouts, and others. Than through an extensive operation to wash, repair and replace beads and stuffing, plastic eyes and other dangerous items on the toys, the sell them on their website.  They than donate 100% of the profits to animal causes, especially to tackle pet overpopulation!

Ultimate Air Dogs – What a great event.  A huge, I mean huge pools it set up with measurement markers on the sides of the pool.  The contest is all about distance jumping and each participating dog has two chances to jump into the pool to fetch a tennis ball. Dogs run down a dock and fly into a pool, with the distance judged from the end of the dock to the base of the dog’s tail. Watch these amazing dogs do their stuff in our video and photos.

Silver Knights Jousting Troupe – Silver Knights Productions is a New York/New Jersey based theatrical joust and ground fight troupe. For over twenty years, they have entertained and electrified audiences of all ages and sizes at events big and small, corporate or private. See them in action in our video.

WoofTrax – Interesting program that encourages you to walk your dog while raising money for your favorite animal rescue operation.  They have an app for iPhone and Android that records the number of miles you walk your dog. Based on this number a certain amount is than earned and donated to your fav rescue.  The funds they donate come from sponsors and their app is in the top 1% of all health and fitness apps on Android and iPhone.  Check it out. download it and get healthy with your dog.

 ARF – Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons – The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons actively rescues cats and dogs, provides quality care and offers sanctuary until loving homes can be found. They have a state-of-the-art Adoption Center is on 22 wooded acres in Wainscott, New York. There are three open catteries with screened-in porches; a kennel with 48 indoor dog runs; 12 spacious outdoor runs; and a fully equipped medical wing with operating room, nurseries and quarantine holding rooms. ARF is a “no-kill” adoption center. They will care for an animal regardless of how long it takes to find a home, except in extraordinary circumstances, such as incurable illness or severe and dangerous behavioral problems. In such cases, a cat or dog may be euthanized.  They offer a number of training and obedience classes and much more. Visit this page to select they type of pet you want, color, breed and more.

Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Park – This is not a traditional pet cemetery but a monument to our animal companions in the form of a memorial park. As an alternative to upright headstones and often depressing atmosphere of traditional cemeteries, Abbey Glen offers a pristine park-like setting, inspiring surroundings and peaceful ambience throughout the awe-inspiring grounds.

Visitors are welcome to bring their children and dogs any day between dawn and dusk to walk around the lawns, roads and trails throughout the park and admire scenic lookouts, statues, landscaping, shrubbery and flowers throughout the year.

 A Tail To Tell Rescue – A Tail to Tell is a group of dedicated and committed volunteers. The volunteers in this group work tirelessly to raise money to rescue rehabilitate and provide outstanding veterinary care to any dog that is rescued from a puppy mill.

This group was formed over 10 years ago when a small group of people saw the need for a rescue group in Pennsylvania to rescue dogs living in substandard conditions in the puppy mills. Since its inception the group has grown but the primary goal of this group   has remained the same – to rescue rehabilitate and provide outstanding veterinary care to any dog rescued from a puppy mill.

Did You Buy A Puppy Mill Dog?  If So, This Is What You Should Do

Our best companion Georgie was purchased in a pet shop as a pedigree Chihuahua.  As he grew and tipped the scales at 10 pounds, we decided to order a dog DNA test to see if he really was a purebred.  We later discovered that he was in fact a mix of Chihuahua and Jack Russel and the paper work was fake.  We discovered through people who worked at this store that they only bought puppy mill dogs and they cost the pet shop between $10-$50, we paid them $1,000.

Most of these pups are usually sick or have all sorts of genetic defects that may not show up for years. I decided to sue the owner of the shop in Small Claims Court and he than realized I was serious about this matter and agreed to refund the $1,000 I had paid.

The state of New Jersey considers a pet, dog, cat or other animal a product and as such false representation of that product is consumer fraud.  With your DNA test as proof of your dogs genetics, you can sue and win a judgement in court.  In New Jersey Small Claims court will handle judgements up to $3,000 and the Special Parts C (like small claims) can award up to $6,000.  Easy to do, cost is about $26 and your dog DNA test and some photos of your dog or vet reports is all you will need.

DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR PUPPY FROM A PET SHOP OR PUPPY STORE, EVER

If you have already purchased your dog, even it if was years ago, you may still be able to win in court. Please go online and order a dog DNA test for around $70 and find out what the true genetics are. Put these pet shops and puppy mills out of business and hurt them where it hurts most, in their pocket books. So many victims of this fraud never realize until years later and thousands of dollars in medical bills that there was something wrong with their dog.  Often they don’t even think it might have been the inbreeding and poor health that the breeding stock in the puppy mills endure.  Lets all put a stop to these puppy mills and let these puppy stores know that we will no longer accept this type of behavior.  Put them out of business now.

It Was A Wonderful Event

It was a wonderful event and there were lots of great organizations and companies there that offered visitors an opportunity to adopt a new pet or at least donate to one of the many worthwhile causes.  We urge our readers to help these fine companies and urge anyone that is thinking of getting a new dog or cat to check these and other rescue organizations in your area and rescue a pet that will become your warm and loving companion as our Georgie has become to us.