Drexel Dog Days bring in dozens of furry friends and adoption opportunities

OAK CREEK, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Drexel Town Square is always a good spot for people to walk around and hangout, but this weekend it turned into a dog's dream park.

“It’s like a farmers market but all about dogs,” said Alex Hayes, the tourism and event coordinator for Oak Creek.

Dozens of four-legged friends explored local vendors, enjoyed some playtime and of course the main event, dock diving.

"It's called Pier Pups, which is a dock diving organization, so you can come see dogs compete to dive as far as they can in a large swimming pool,” said Hayes.

As these pups splashed into summer, others made new friends, some even in the hopes to find their forever home.

"If we don’t get adoptions here, they usually come within the next couple of days, so we’ll get a lot of applications and stuff," said Andrea Roses, with Shelter From the Storm, a no kill shelter in Madison.

Roses says events like these always help their pets get some extra love, homes and bring in much needed volunteers.

"We always need help, we never have enough hands," said Roses. "Dogs need help with the care, it helps some socialize as well. A lot of them are scared, it's very noisy at the shelter, very stressful, so just having friendly faces come in, different types of people come in, that way they’re ready for their new home."

With poor air quality conditions still lingering in the air from wildfire smoke, event organizers say they had to keep an extra eye on the quality for everyone's safety.

"For the most part, the dogs are fine," said Roses. "The dogs that were concerned about are Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and the ones of the really smushed faces, we kind of just let them outside and then bring them back in just for their sake."

Those who came out were able to see dogs on and off the job having fun, many learning something new along the way.

"It’s just about bringing people together and providing something enjoyable for them to do with their pets," said Hayes.