The Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas was transformed into a festival for dogs with “Vendor Village” booths, dog treats and contests celebrating dogs and “Be Kind to Animals Week.”

Over 600 people attended the fourth annual “Canine Carnival” dog walk last Saturday.

“We had 20 different vendors from different parts of the community (attend),” said Bill Harford, executive director for the Inland Valley Humane Society. “They’re here to educate or sell products.”

More than 250 dogs and their owners registered for the one to three mile walk.

Dog owners collected pledges from their neighbors and friends in support of the dog walk.

The owner who received the most amount of pledge money received an all expenses paid trip to Mardi Gras 2006. The grand prize winner brought in $2,500. People who brought in pledges ranging from $30 to $500 or more received small prizes for their participation.

The child who brought in the most money was Julia Tenenbaum with $530. She won a Southern California entertainment package with tickets to Disneyland, Knott’s, Magic Mountain and Legoland.

The dog walk route was designed for dogs and their owners to walk anywhere from one mile to three miles.

“I went out at the mile mark and encouraged (others to go further),” Harford said. “A lot of people did three miles.”

“We had no dog fights, we had no dog bites, no incidents,” Harford said. “(It was a) well behaved day for dogs and their owners.”

This event will raise more than $40,000 for programs at the Humane Society, Harford added.

Harford pointed to “Jake the Talking Dog,” one of the dogs entered in the best talking dog category, performing in front of the stage.

Dog owners received a free pancake breakfast and free beverages. They were also offered a free family photo with their pet.

“People love their dogs,” Harford said.

Viviana Vargas from Claremont was at the Canine Carnival with her 9 year old Labrador mix, Maggie, and 12 year old Dachshund, Fritz.

“This is our fourth (year),” Vargas said. “We’ve done it every year to raise money for the Humane Society.”

Although Maggie and Fritz were not entered, Vargas’ favorite event of the day were the contests.

“We did the walk,” Vargas said. “It’s fun to do the walk except when your dogs get this old, you have to carry them,” Vargas said.

Jordan Wade, from Chino, brought her 18-month-old Australian Shepard, Blaze.

“It’s always lots of fun to let the dogs socialize,” Wade said. It’s also a way to “give her some extra exercise and we have fun shopping.”

“We went one mile,” Wade added. “We were here last year too. She always enjoys coming and socializing with all the dogs, sample treats,” Wade said.

Wade decided not to take a free photo with her pet.

“I brought my own camera, so we’ve been taking pictures all day. Its really a lot of fun,” he said.

Pet contests and prizes were sponsored by Ikea.

Alexandra Lozano can be reached at himelozano@juno.com.