As Director of Woofa~Roo Pet Fest, I am delighted to welcome you to one of the fastest growing festivals in Essex County! 

Woofa~Roo Pet Fest was just a concept in the fall of 2012 and quickly became a labour of love by combining a passion for animals and many years of management experience. Although absent in this area, large pet festivals are enthusiastically embraced throughout the country. Modeling the very successful pet friendly Dog Bowl in Frankenmuth, Michigan (drawing 40,000 people), I decided to set a goal to become this regions Largest Olympic Style Pet Event. Essex County was ripe for a major pet and family friendly event . . . and so it began. 

In 2013, our inaugural year, we introduced the wildly popular Dock Diving as our marquis event along with other canine games and demonstrations including, dog agility, the elite Windsor Police K9 Unit and more. In spite of our very low operating budget, we attracted more than 7,000 people and created a buzz for our major sponsors. The stage was set as we found a formula for success.

Thank You To Our Feature Sponsors

We continue to grow, and consistently bring more than 10,000 people (pre Covid) to our festival with a carefully planned and executed shoestring budget. Without the benefit of government funding we've had an economic impact of over 1.2 million dollars each year. Our surveys indicate that we are drawing patrons from 12 different states south of the border and the competitve dog sports are  attracting teams from Quebec, the GTA and Niagara region. 

The figures that we are the most proud of are the numbers that reflect our aid in the community. Our large charitable component enabled our charities and rescues to raise more than $70,000.00 and complete dozens of animal adoptions. We have become an important volunteer opportunity, enabling hundreds of students to earn community hours and pleased that we are one of the few festivals who welcome those with special needs - 10% of our volunteers are people with disabilities.

Woofa~Roo Pet Fest doesn't have a huge staff or a board to pull it all together. I have the assistance of a small group of key volunteers and generous sponsors. Together we bring this dynamic weekend with a charitable twist to Amherstburg every summer. It's an amazing effort from a very loyal group of animal lovers who have now become close friends.

It's an absolute pleasure to know that people wait with great anticipation for the next Woofa~Roo - many alter their work and vacation schedules to attend.  

I hope you will consider becoming a sponsor as we celebrate animal ownership, June 22 & 23, 2024!

Lorene Clayton ​