Want a pet? Expo provides dos, don'ts in finding one
There aren't many places you can meet a Leonberger.
These huge dogs - like Minnah of Tower Lakes - were bred to look like lions, complete with manes. And they are one of the breeds showing off at the Chicagoland Family Pet Expo this weekend at Arlington Park.
Rescue organizations for all kinds of canine breeds as well as cats and dogs without pedigrees present their charges, along with a few groups that appreciate exotics like snakes and birds.
Products for pets from cat toys to food and fashions are for sale, as are treats for humans such as Girl Scout cookies.
Whether they're rescuing Leonbergers, Rottweilers or dachshunds, every group preaches the same message: Get your animals from a shelter, a rescue group or a reputable breeder.
They want you to avoid supporting the dread puppy mills where people are not careful about breeding for traits, and female dogs are kept in cages to constantly reproduce.
Leonbergers for all their size are good family dogs, calm and dependable, said Heide Winings, who owns the 140-pound Minnah. Children sit on her Leonbergers when she takes them to visit at Sunny Hill School in Carpentersville.
Interested? Check out the groups are Leos in Need Inc. and Leonberger Rescue Inc.
At the other end of the size spectrum are cairn terriers, dogs that frequently weigh less than 20 pounds.
At the booth of Cairn Rescue USA the breed has its own Dorothy because Toto, the dog in the Wizard of Oz movie, was a cairn rescued from the streets of Los Angeles. That's the word from Megan Slattery of the Detroit area, who dresses as Dorothy and carries Abby Girl, her cairn.
And the dogs appearing with the national touring company of the play were adopted from this group, said Shell Lewis of Geneva, director of adoptions for the Midwest.
But beware! As small and as cute as these dogs are, they are high energy and most are not lap dogs, insists Lewis.
Cat Guardians of Lombard displays cats like Jason and Dilly, two unrelated orange yearlings who love each other like brothers because they were raised together.
These adoption-eligible felines get special treatment because Jason has food allergies, and Dilly's congenital eye problem requires daily drops.
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p>
<p class="News">Chicagoland Family Pet Expo, through Sunday at Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights.</p>
<p class="News">• Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. March 20; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 21.</p>
<p class="News">• Details: <a href="http://petchicago.com" target="new">petchicago.com</a></p>
<p class="News">• Admission: (cash only) Adults $10; children 3-12 $5; $6 parking.</p>
<p class="News">• Etc.: 300 booths exhibit or sell; there are cat shows and dog performances. Visitors cannot bring pets unless registered in advance for competitions. Animals are not for sale and cannot be adopted on site.</p>