dogs are NOT eyecandy at festivals

[leeds1000]

I was saddened by the number of dogs I saw struggling to adapt to four days of extreme heat, little water, and loud music. Out of the 5 dogs I watered and offered shade to regularly, none had any tags, and had probably never been to a vet for even a rabies shot. To make it worse, the staff allowed the dogs through the gates down onto the main field every time!! There was no shade at all down there!! No refuge from the heat or chaos, for these kind, loving creatures.

I read time and time again "NO DOGS ALLOWED"! I must say the festival was very fun, but You should keep in mind, we all know rules were made to be broken, lot's and lot's of times, but when it comes to the big 3 LIFE, LOVE, HAPPINESS, I feel that this should apply to man's best friend as well.
Thank you, Peace, music, and happy dogs forever

[armedaneian]

I've asked people with dogs at events before, and have been told these are guide dogs or guide dogs in training. Some didn't appear to be well taken care of, but for a few dollars you can get a piece of paper that says you're training a dog for the blind. These dogs have to be trained by others and taking them to big events like this are a good way to ensure their end user has no problems in crowds. How a wookie can get this paper and keep up this facade is beyond me, but I know some dogs at festivals are legit and protected by law.

[crixtala]

Jul 7, 2010 13:03:54 GMT -5 techie207 said:

Working overnight at one of the gates I had one dog walk up to the gate completely on its own... No owner came to staff to even check to see if a dog had been seen or brought anywhere.... It was rather disheartening. The dog was friendly as could be, wasn't afraid of myself or other staff and didn't cower down when we pet it so it's a good chance it wasn't abused. However, it had no tags at all, and the owner never checked in to retrieve her. We had another dog that was in the back of a pickup truck (not tied) that would not let a single person within 5 feet. Any time someone lit off fireworks the dog would jump out of the truck and charge the fence and staff. Again, no tags at all. All of this at an event where no animals were supposed to be allowed, it was rather sad to see some people just outright disregard this rule and then neglect the animals.

Don't ever go to Bonnaroo... You can literally hear dogs crying all day long throughout the campsites that are (I'm assuming) locked up in cars/trucks for the day in the June heat in Tennessee.