Toronto Christmas Pet Show
This weekend, Rita and I attended the Canadian Pet Expo’s Toronto Christmas Pet Show in Mississauga. This was a two-day event with over 100 stalls, educational talks, interactive games, dog and cat shows and plenty of unique photo opportunities.
The show took place in the International Centre, near Toronto-Pearson Airport. We bought our tickets in advance online, and also had to fill in a pet waiver for Rita. Parking was abundant, and free! We spent a couple of hours at the show. Upon entry, we received a goodie bag with treats, a toy, poo bags, and even water with a plastic bowl for Rita.
She was indeed.
Our first stop was the marketplace, where there were many interesting stalls to visit. Mostly they were shops selling products, and giving away freebies! We bought a cute toy at Our Haru and some doggy fragrance spray at Soos. We also picked up some treats at Soos and at Healthy Bud. We received a few samples of treats and kibble for Rita too, (at Maple and Cedar and 1st Choice Nutrition) and got a free ball from Rens Pets.
Treat samples are the way to becoming Rita’s friend
Other goods on offer included CBD oils, bespoke pet furniture, ID tags printed on the spot, and doggy apparel. There was even (dog-themed) human apparel for sale.
Charities and businesses like pet boarding facilities had stalls too. Stoverly Aussies brought some of their Australian Shepherd pups along, and Molly the Fire Dog was available for meet and greets.
However, this show was not just for dogs; there was a special cat section, and even stalls for birds, rabbits, and other small animals. I was surprised by the number of reptile stalls, with reptiles on display for sale, as well as tarantulas!
Vetster on-demand online veterinarian service brought a professional photo booth with them, complete with studio lighting. There was a bit of a queue for this, but it was completely free and you could take as many photos as you liked! Rita posed like her blogging career depended on it!
One of the most popular sections was Santa Paws! For $15, we got a photo with the man himself. Another popular activity was the dog lure course which Rita would have loved, but there was a massive queue for this so we didn’t wait.
We spent some time watching the Royal Canin dog show, including the terrier class where the dogs were judged according to breed standards. Royal Canin hosted educational talks about feeding beside the ring. In addition, there were some less formal shows to watch, like the “Dog Circus” and the Grooming Competition. There was a cat show too, but we stayed away from that for obvious reasons!
There was a refreshments area for a coffee and a light snack if you got peckish, and a dog “restroom”. The event was well organised with both humans and dogs in mind!
From the Ren’s Pets Treat Bar
