For eight years, there has been an event held in Berthoud educating people on puppy mills while providing fun in the shade of Fickel Park.

This year, the event, Puppy Mill Awareness Day, will be held this Saturday with an array of entertaining activities planned for people and dogs. In addition to browsing vendor booths, listening to music, and eating delicious bites from food trucks, there will be a doggie flea market and doggie costume contest.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day has been shaped to be as much for humans as those furry companions that we make part of our family. In fact, if anyone has been contemplating adding another furry member of the family, Puppy Mill Awareness Day will feature adoptable dogs. 

There will be a Blessing of the Animals, a delightful affair that recognizes and honors the bonds between people and their pets. Locals can be proud that the Town of Berthoud will make a proclamation at the event declaring that the second Saturday of September will be the official Puppy Mill Awareness Day in Berthoud.

New this year is “The Puppy Mill Experience,” a project nine months in the making. It is a self-guided live tour like none other. There will be a variety of exhibits that will lend insight into the hidden world of the puppy mill industry.

“We feel this will be very eye-opening,” stated Rudi Taylor, co-founder of Harley’s Dream and Puppy Mill Awareness Day, along with her husband, Dan Taylor.

“Since Dan and I have personally experienced the reality of puppy mills, our hope with this exhibit is to bring that experience to the public,” said Taylor.

One hundred percent of the profits from Puppy Mill Awareness Day go to Harley’s Dream. Education is the key to what this day is all about. Harley, the little dog that started all of this, has now passed away, but his legacy lives on through the nonprofit and this special event. His entire story is online at HarleysDream.org.

“We feel that people will leave the event feeling enlightened and educated—and positive that they will not support the puppy mill industry by shopping for a dog at pet stores and online,” said Taylor.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day is Saturday, September 10, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is an event for the entire family, including those four-legged family members. Learn things, enjoy puppy cuddles and help dogs.