By Marney Simon | Bugle Staff
A rainy morning pushed the event back by about an hour but couldn’t stop man’s best friend from taking over the streets of downtown Joliet on Saturday, June 9.
Chicago Street hosted vendors and local pet rescues during this year’s Paws on 66 Pet Rescue Day.
This was the second year for the event, sponsored Hawk Joliet Subaru and organized by Safe Pets for Joliet and. Organizers said the event brings out rescues, potential families, and vendors so people can meet dogs, adopt, and network.
“The most important reason for having an event like this is to educate people that there are very good choices to bring in a family pet,” said Peggy Grandahl of Paws Crossed Rescue Resource, who volunteers with Safe Pets for Joliet. “You can adopt from rescues or shelters, or there are always good quality, responsible breeders, and those breeders never sell their dogs to pet shops or brokers. So, right here you have dogs who are being given a second chance. Every dog that’s adopted out of an event like this makes room for another dog that can have their life saved.”
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said events like this can help save an animal’s life. Glasgow said his office takes seriously their job to put away those who may abuse pets, though it’s a sometimes a challenge.
“My job is to prosecute in animal cruelty cases, and one of the things we found out is that there’s just a lack of training out in the field for people who are charged with investigating animal cruelty,” he said.
Glasgow said the June 19 and 20 the county, along with the ASPCA, will host a seminar at Joliet Junior College on animal cruelty investigations.
“We’re really serious about it, we want the community involved,” Glasgow said. “If you ever do see incidents of animal cruelty, please call. We’ve got a bill in Springfield right now on leaving a dog in a hot car. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of knuckleheads down there who can’t see their way through to vote for it yet, but there’s a dozen other states that have signed that bill into law.”
While there is no statewide law on leaving animals in a hot car, Joliet has a local ordinance that makes the practice illegal.
Glasgow said his office is also working to crack down on puppy mills.
In addition to adoptions, the free event featured a pet blessing, a K9 demonstration from the Plainfield Police Department, an appearance by Tommy Hawk of the Chicago Blackhawks, and performances from Team Zoom Stunt Dogs.