Celebrating May with 'Bark at the Park' at Chase Field

Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is now dog friendly! Every Sunday dogs are welcome to enjoy the game on the PetSmart Patio with their humans. While Chase Field is the first dog friendly Major League Baseball stadium in the country, they continue to hold an annual event called Bark at the Park. This year’s event was sponsored by PetSmart, Avoderm and Nylabone. We were lucky enough to be a part of it and I can’t wait until next year!

Bark at the Park 2016

At last minute we decided to go to Bark at the Park. Although I’m a HUGE D-backs fan, Matt and I have been spending a lot of money lately on the wedding and travel. We knew that the event would be worth it. Matt and I hadn’t been to a game yet this season so we figured this would be perfect! What made this particular Bark at the Park so exciting was that PetSmart was going for a Guinness World Record. The goal was to have 1,000 dogs in attendance for “most dogs present at a sporting event.” We ended up falling just shy of that goal with 858 dogs. There’s always next year!

We started off the day by signing in and getting registered. Our tickets got us sweet PetSmart shirts and a swag bag filled with goodies from Avoderm and Nylabone. Yay for free food, dental sticks and a water bowl!

The wait wasn’t long before we all marched into the stadium to walk the baseball field warning track. This was definitely the most fun part! We got to walk through the bullpen and onto the field. We weren’t allowed on the grass but it was so much fun to see all of the dogs strutting their stuff. Wynston was loving it.

Bark at the Park — *The entrance to the bullpen and field.*

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Matt and I managed to stop a few times to get good photos. But don’t get to close to the grass – they will yell at you to “stay off the grass!!!!!”

There were three sections for guests with dogs. We sat in bleachers which worked out well because I was able to put down Wynston’s blanket for him to lay on. It was only 74° but man, it was hot on those bleachers. The clouds would cover the sun briefly, and we’d all start cheering for the reprieve. I wish they would have closed the roof. It was pretty miserable with the sun beating down on us. A couple of times I took Wynston to walk around in the shade. He drank lots of water. I made sure I shared my hot dog because he was being such a good boy.

Something entirely wonderful that I noticed was that no dogs (that I saw) had prong collars on! All of the dogs were being treated well and everyone was happy. There were a ton of different dog breeds there. Wynston was really hot in the sun so I can’t imagine how some of those other dogs felt. Luckily PetSmart gave us free water bowls so everyone had water handy for the pups.

bark 21 — *Wynston watching the game like a gentleman.*

Unfortunately the Diamondbacks lost today. We had a good time but next year I’ll be more prepared for the heat. Both of the main dog sections were completely in the sun. One other section that had dogs was mostly in the sun. Now I know! The PetSmart Patio is always shaded and I made sure to check it out. I definitely want to go there for a game this year!

I’m extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to take Wynston to Bark at the Park at Chase Field! Khloee doesn’t do well with crowds and McKenzie can get aggressive toward other dogs, so they had to stay home. Matt and I had a ball (pun intended) and we walked away with some fantastic goodies. A big thanks to PetSmart, Avoderm and Nylabone for sponsoring the event!