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The Kane County Cougars Baseball Foundation and Villa Park-based Robust Promotions are hoping to set a Guinness World Record Sunday by staging the largest dog wedding ceremony at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva.
Officials are looking to smash the current record set by Jill Kobe, who married 178 pairs of dogs in Littleton, Colorado, in 2007.
Willowbrook resident Bob Froehlich, owner and CEO of the Kane County Cougars, said the wedding event will serve as a fundraiser for various service animal organizations and pet adoption groups and that the wedding event “is really about the cause.”
“Our foundation annually gives back about $1 million to the community and one of our key focuses has always been the military. When Robust promotions reached out to us and said we wanted to do this kind of quirky event but the real purpose is to raise funds for ‘K9s for Warriors’ – it was just a perfect fit for us,” said Froehlich. “Minor league baseball is kind of a quirky goofy sport – kids run the bases after the game, parents run the bases – it’s more about the fireworks than the ball club. When this serious cause to raise money came up – we just thought it was a perfect marriage.”
Froehlich said nearly 400 dogs are hopefully going to be brought to the stadium in order the break the current record, which stands at 356 and that he wasn’t concerned about managing so many animals on the field.
“They (the dogs) will all be cordoned off in 50-yard by 50-yard spaces with two handlers in each area, and the dogs will also be organized by size,” Froelich said. “Guinness has an unbelievable amount of requirements to ensure the safety and security of the dogs. They have to be checked by a vet first before allowed in the stadium. This is very organized and orchestrated and there will be no issues with the dogs – that’s why they wanted to have it in a baseball stadium so you have the field to work within. We’re actually on 38-acres.”
Sunday’s “Diamonds in the Ruff — the Largest Dog Wedding Ceremony“ aims to help save the lives of rescue dogs and U.S. veterans all while making an official attempt to break a world record,” according to the event website.
London-based magician Martin Rees, a five-time Guinness World Record titleholder, will serve as an emcee for the event taking place at Northwestern Medicine Field, 34W002 Cherry Lane in Geneva, according to a press release from the Cougars.
Rees will also officiate the vows with an ordained canine minister – a dog named Reverend Henry Cleotis Farnsworth III.
Gates and registration opens at 8 a.m. Before the ceremony, Froehlich said “there will be face painting for kids, balloon artists, magicians and music.”
“The actual ceremony starts at noon and it will probably be about 20-minutes,” he said. “We’ll be there until 2 p.m. because there will be goat milk toast for all the dogs and there will be food and beverages trucks there for guests. It’s kind of like an all-day family event around dogs.”
Organizers hope to raise $100,000 for K9s for Warriors and 12 other service animal organizations and local pet adoption groups. K9s for Warriors, which will receive 50 percent of the registration proceeds, provides trained service dogs to military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or military sexual trauma.
Other participating groups include Greater Chicago Cage Bird Society, New Start Dog Rescue of Illinois, Rover Rescue, Tiny N Tall Rescue, Underdog Railway Rescue, Kane County Animal Control, V.E.T. Service Dogs NFP, Paws 4 U 4 Ever, Border Tails Rescue, Almost Home Foundation, Players for Pits and DuPage County Animal Services. To register your dog, go to www.largestdogwedding.com/#petRegistrationAnchor. Cost is $25.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
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