Nearly £3,000 raised at Bark in The Park

Nearly £3,000 was raised for charities Canine Partners, Redgate Farm Animal Sanctuary and Bradgate Park Trust by Bradgate Rotary Club’s 2026 Bark In The Park.

The dog show and family fun day attracted hundreds of visitors, including lots with four paws, to the Hallgates entrance (Swithland Wood end) of Bradgate Park. One family came from Worcester to share the joy of seeing dogs compete in games of ‘Canine Musical Sit’ and ‘Doggy Egg and Spoon’ race.

There were also 10 ‘traditional’ classes. One – the dog that the judge would most like to take home – received 41 entries

The Best In Show was awarded to Saffy an XL Bully Dog.

Inside the arena were displays. These included Bite Avoidance, by Shane Hartshorn from K9 Education, displays by dance group Dance Sensation and a demonstration of the work undertaken by assistance dogs trained by Canine Partners a national charity based at Osgathorpe, Loughborough.

Local businesses, charities and community groups were among the stalls which were busy.

Bradgate Rotary president Dr Andrea Wilkinson, took the lead on organising the event. She is a dog-lover and afterwards thanked the stallholders and the sponsors

• Anstey Groom Room
• Elephant Embroidery Ltd.
• Twelve Silver Trees
• Cassie’s Care
• Midlands Pet Ambulance
• The Bradgate, Newton Linford
• QMS
• Riva Lilley Estate Agents
• Markfield Opticians
• Bradgate Rare Books

Andrea said “today has been an excellent day. We have been blessed by good weather and dogs and owners have enjoyed themselves. It was a lot of hard work but rewarding to see everyone having so much fun”