Gorton's Dog Day Parade Postponed Until 2016

There is only one thing Gorton Community Center loves more than a Dog Parade: The health and safety of our community dogs! In light of the recent Dog Flu H3N8 outbreak, Gorton’s Dog Day Parade has been postponed until 2016.

“Gorton’s Dog Day brings families, friends and dogs together,” said Gorton Executive Director Brenda Dick. “It’s a morning of silly costumes on dogs and people, music, and a spring celebration for all. The dog flu was not in the schedule. When we consulted with four local veterinarians about holding the biggest gathering of dogs in Lake Forest, they were unanimous: Even with a strong trend indicating Lake Forest and Lake Bluff are well on the way to recovery, rescheduling Gorton’s Dog Day Parade to 2016 is the prudent decision.”

Factors key in making the decision to postpone include:

• Dogs may be asymptomatic for several days before presenting illness. Because dogs attend from a wide-ranging area - and even from rescue groups - it is difficult to ensure that they have not been exposed to the virus
• Virus has also been found to be transmissible to felines
• Virus has never before been seen in the U.S.
• There is currently no vaccine for this virus

Gorton’s Dog Day features a parade, which steps off from Gorton, marches through town, around Market Square, and back to Gorton where prizes are awarded for costumes. The “Top Dog” is awarded by crowd applause and the Woof-o-Meter, custom-built by Altounian Construction just for Dog Day. Following the ribbon ceremony, participants enjoy live music, hot dogs from Catering by Kenny, rescue groups, and a dog agility demonstration by Brenda Belmonte’s students from Two Paws Up Dog Training.

Merchants and businesses along the parade route vie for the barking rights to the “Best Doggone Shop Window,” which Pasquesi Sheppard LLC on Bank Lane won in 2014. In addition to the dog accountants who adorned their front step, Pasquesi Sheppard commissioned a banner and t-shirts to celebrate the day.

“The 2016 committee and sponsors are in place,” said Dick, “Next year we will introduce the first annual Daisy ReQua Award for Canine Volunteerism. Dog Day 2016 is bound to be the biggest and best ever!”