DTOP: Come Join Us, Little Wrigley!

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune columnist and a diehard Chicago White Sox fan, is dogging Chicago Cubs loyalists by nominating his brother's pooch, Little Wrigley, to be the Cubbies' mascot as they near the playoffs.

Previously, I've tried to entice Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown to make his mutt, Gilbert, a part of I Do, Doggone It!, this Guinness Word Record "mass dog wedding" attempt that Downtown Oak Park is waging.

Brown hasn't said "no," but neither has he done backflips over the idea.

But now Kass has opened wide the doghouse door for me to approach him--or, at least, his brother. I Do, Doggone It! already has its "first couple" selected, but who knows, maybe we could designate Wrigley as one-half of the record-clinching 179th canine couple.

Stay tuned as I embark on a dogged doggie-recruitment campaign.

Thank You, PetSmart!

A big "thank you" to PetSmart for its generous $3,000 donation to the Animal Care League of Oak Park, in connection with I Do, Doggone It!

Between now and the event on Nov. 8th--and even afterwards--we will keep the kudos flowing PetSmart's way.

If you are a prospective sponsor of the event, please contact Tom Van Winkle at the Animal Care League or Pat Zubak of Downtown Oak Park.

If you are a member of the media sharing our story with your audience, please do all you can to note PetSmart's support of the ACL during this event.

And if you own a dog, or know someone who does, check out PetSmart's website and shop to your heart's (and the dog in your life's) content, either online or at one of the company's more than 1,000 stores in the United States and Canada!

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know...

Wondering how to register your dog(s) for I Do, Doggone It! ? Want to know if you can "marry" same-gender pooches (um, yes, this is a dog wedding, after all)? Curious to know what else is happening at the big event that is a scant 53 days away?

Information is forthcoming soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the event that are not addressed by other posts on this blog, feel free to e-mail Matt Baron at Matt@InsideEdgePR.com.

And check back soon for an exciting announcement about a major supporter of the Animal Care League!

A Sign of the (Doggie Doo-Doo) Times

And you wonder why there's so much canine obesity in the world!

Oh, wait, I think "exercise" may well be a euphemism for "let your dog go poopie."

Anyway, this was a first--coming across a sign of this sort. Hey, has anyone ever seen a "Do Not Marry Off Your Dog to the German Shepherd Next Door" sign?

I thought not...let the match-making continue!

Guinness World Records: The Logo!

What's a Guinness World Record attempt without a logo?

Today, the fine folks at Guinness World Records furnished us with the logo you see here in this post. The big day is two months away--have you circled Saturday, Nov. 8th on your calendar?

As an additional point of reference, that date is roughly one week after Chicago celebrates its latest World Series triumph...we'll let your imagination run wild over whether we refer to the Cubs' breaking a 100-year dry spell or the White Sox re-emerging as champs after three years!

IDDI Goes International For New Nov. 8th Date

(This news release was issued on Friday, Aug. 29)

Mass dog wedding moved to Nov. 8th, kicks off record week
Tongue-in-cheek history can wait, doggone it!

Downtown Oak Park will wait until Nov. 8th to unleash I Do, Doggone It!

DTOP decided to push back the mass dog wedding by five weeks, from its original Oct. 4 date. Guinness World Recordsâ marketing officials broached the idea so that it coincided with Guinness World Records Day, their annual global celebration of record-breaking attempts.

DTOP is aiming to break the current mass dog wedding record of 178 “couples,” established in May 2007 in Littleton, Colorado.

By agreeing to the shift, DTOP received numerous perks. Guinness World Records will offer international media outreach that includes featuring the tongue-in-cheek ceremony on its website, http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/.

Guinness World Records also may provide, free of charge, an adjudicator—an official who determines on the spot if a record has been broken. Such a service typically comes with a fee in the thousands of dollars. A decision on a complimentary adjudicator is expected by Oct. 1.

Pat Zubak, DTOP’s executive director, said the opportunity was simply too good to pass up.

“The event has already generated lots of enthusiasm locally, with the public and the media,” said Zubak. “With this new twist, we’re thrilled to have a bigger platform to promote the Animal Care League’s cause as well as all of downtown Oak Park.”

Besides the broader media exposure and potential adjudicator, at least one other bonus will come DTOP’s way: if the organization sets the new record, it would be short-listed for inclusion in next year’s edition of the Guinness World Records book.

In addition to striving for conjugal canine glory, the event will raise money for the Animal Care League of Oak Park. The registration fee is $5 per dog, and DTOP is also seeking event sponsors whose funds will directly support the ACL, a shelter for cats and dogs at 1013 Garfield St.

Vows to be exchanged will occur along the newly re-opened Marion Street between North Boulevard and Lake Street. To pair up dogs who have not yet found their match, there will be a “speed dating” component on the day of the event.

Downtown Oak Park, the nonprofit corporation that manages and markets the central business district of Oak Park, is officially known as The Harlem Lake Corporation. Since 1988, the downtown business association has been comprised of property owner and retail owner members within Oak Park's Special Service Area #1.

For regularly updated information, visit the event website at http://www.dogwedding.info/. Also: http://www.downtownoakpark.net/ and http://www.animalcareleague.org/.

Media Contacts:

Pat Zubak, Downtown Oak Park, 708-383-4145; pzubak@downtownoakpark.net
Tom Van Winkle, Animal Care League, 708-257-2320
Matt Baron, 708-860-1380; Matt@InsideEdgePR.com
Laura Plunkett, 646-277-5258; Laura.Plunkett@guinnessworldrecords.com