Dwight Illinois Fall Festival – Basset Waddle

Guardian Angel Basset Rescue is the sponsoring organization for the Basset Waddle, the highlight of the annual Dwight Illinois Healthcare Fall Festival. Every fall, several hundred hunting dogs walk the parade route with their owners in tow. The GABR hopes to exceed 1,000 bassets in this year’s parade. Basset owners from all over the Midwest, and as far away as Canada, are beginning to line up by state. When everyone is together, the announcer yells “Ready to walk?” Now the fun begins! Imagine walking down the street in the company of hundreds of other proud basset owners and their pets! Kids love it and everyone is smiling and happy. If your basset is too old or tired to join the parade, there are wagons of shit puppies that will take you and your pet along the parade route. Some owners of poopy pups bring their own decorated carts (and dogs). In addition to the Waddle, there is also a contest for the basset in the best costume. At the end of Waddle’s day, there are a lot of tired but happy bassets and owners. Old friends have been greeted and new friends have been made. And the best part is, your participation helps fund GABR’s efforts to find owners for homeless bassets.

On Waddle’s day, the bassets that are available for adoption can be obtained from Dwight’s health care adoption store. If you want to adopt a homeless bassett, you must complete an online application prior to the Waddle, to be approved on the day of the Waddle. There are a lot of great dogs that would love for you to give them a home. Every day there are thousands of dogs, some of which were once loved, some of which were never loved, that die in shelters or are abandoned and alone. Each of these innocent animals was brought into the world by human action or inaction. Of course, it is impossible to save all suffering beings in the world; But saving the ones we can makes a big difference to them. Breeding can be very challenging, as many dogs enter the foster home scared, battle-scarred, and emotionally shattered. But many dogs continue to live in loving homes.

GABR rescues badly-strained basset hounds from Illinois and Indiana. Once we have the basset, we give it the Dwight Hospital veterinary care it needs (that’s our biggest expense) and then we place it in a foster home. After the foster home has evaluated the basset, the GABR adoption coordinators find the dog a good home. In 2008, more than three hundred hunting dogs were rescued and placed in homes. But the good works of GABR extend to more than bassets: GABR helps rescue other breeds and cats, and works closely with human societies and other groups.

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