It’s National Dog Day! How Michigan Celebrates Cuddly Canines
CC BY 2.0 / Flickr / Dominik QN /
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Let those tails wag! National Dog Day for 2022 has officially arrived. The holiday that celebrates all fidos no matter their breed was originally created by dog trainer and author Colleen Paige, who chose August 26 because it was the same day her family adopted her first dog.
The holiday was first founded in 2004 and was made in part to encourage people to adopt dogs from shelters while also acknowledging and expressing gratitude for all the things our “best friends” do for us.
“Dogs put their lives on the line every day… for personal protection, for law enforcement, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage, now they're detecting cancer and seizures… things even humans cannot do,” National Dog Day writes in their mission statement.
It's #NationalDogDay. We don't want to hound you with photos of our best friends, but these dogs are so pup-tacular that they should be celebrated! pic.twitter.com/C84R3e2ev3
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 26, 2022
On Friday, Detroit Dog Rescue celebrated the holiday in Corktown at the All Things Marketplace to offer a meet-and-greet of available pets. The group is a non-profit, no-kill dog shelter which was first founded in 2011 that trains and rehomes between 80 and 120 dogs at any given time, according to their website.
Eastern Michigan University also celebrated the special holiday with an event entitled “Wellness Woof” in which students get the chance to meet therapy dogs and their handlers through a virtual format. The university is not the only school in Michigan to use therapy dogs as a way to ease worried students’ minds. Grand Ledge High School hired a chocolate lab named Gravy as a therapy dog for high school students during the pandemic.
24 August 2022, 14:07 GMT
Happy #NationalDogDay! Did you know that some state parks have pet friendly cabins? We do! Visit https://t.co/Umj2hWShwL to find out more!#MiDNR #MiStateParks #GoParks #FindYourParks #FindYourWild #ExploreMichigan #PureMichigan #PureMittenPride #GreatLakes #GreatLakesState pic.twitter.com/cXG6B7smdQ
— Michigan State Parks, Trails and Waterways (@MiStateParks) August 26, 2022
Sadly, some heartbreaking news is impacting Michiganders as an unknown virus has been causing dogs to become ill and die. The virus is similar to canine parvovirus and was first detected in Otsego County in northern Michigan and most often affects puppies between 6 and 20 weeks old. Officials are unsure of how the virus is spreading.
In order to combat the unknown virus, Detroit Dog Rescue released a statement on Instagram encouraging dog owners to keep up with vaccinations especially before interacting with other animals, and to isolate puppies and dogs if they show signs of illness.
