By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new monthly event that debuted Thursday has turned Midtown into a ruff neighborhood.
Dozens of people and their pups filled Fifth Avenue outside Ernie’s Midtown Pub for the inaugural Midtown Dog Walk, a social gathering and fundraiser for Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary.
“Everyone has a smile on their face — look around right now — that’s a beautiful thing to see,” said Andrew Vowles, the owner of Ernie’s. “It’s absolutely family-friendly, pet friendly; I just love seeing everyone with a smile on their face.”
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The monthly dog walk has donation boxes and QR codes set up for people to support Noah’s Ark, a nonprofit no-kill shelter founded in 1978.
“They hold a special place in my heart because of what they do for the community and for animals in the area,” Vowles said.
Larry and Angie Yerk brought their 3-year-old akita, Marley, to the inaugural walk.
“We wanted to bring her out and socialize her some more,” Larry Yerk said. “That’s the best thing you can do for a dog is socialize it.”
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The pub has outdoor seating during the event. No dogs are allowed indoors. There’s also games like bag toss and connect four, along with vendors including Inzombia Coffee, Canine Crunchery, Bad Humor Ice Cream and Bark on Mulford.
“It’s great that Andrew is trying to support getting people out and used to the neighborhood,” Angie Yerk said. “He put on good events to bring people out like the meat raffle, trivia nights and now this. It’s a great thing for the neighborhood.”
Vowles is also a dog owner. He has a pomeranian shih tzu mix named Gordon that was initially his daughter’s dog.
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He hopes the event continues to draw people to Midtown this summer. The final dog walk is scheduled for October, when there will also be a costume contest.
“I really think it’s going to expose people to the area who never came down,” Vowles said. “So they can realize it’s picking up in Midtown a lot, there’s a lot going on. It’s safe to be down here, and there’s good stuff going on like the Midtown Dog Walk.”
Midtown Dog Walk schedule
When: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. the first Thursday of each month (June 1, July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 7, Oct. 5)
Where: Ernie’s Midtown Pub, 1025 Fifth Ave., Rockford
More photos
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas