State pauses the pooch party in Batavia, saying 'no dogs allowed'

The Illinois Health Department has forced the Batavia Park District to cancel its popular Poochapalooza event.

The department has told facilities that having a "doggy dip" event could lead to revocation of their state aquatic license, citing potential illness and a danger of being bitten for dog owners.

"It's a heartbreaker," said Allison Pellegrino of the Batavia Park District.

"We're saddened it's so close to the time of the event."

The late August swim included hot dogs, doggie bags and other pooch-themed items.

"We really hammed it up," Pellegrino said.

"It was a great time."

This would have been the third year for the end-of-season event, which sold out each of its 150 spots for the past two years.

"Those animals can carry parasites and other diseases," Melaney Arnold of Illinois Department of Public Health told the Daily Herald last week.

"When people go to a public swimming facility, they shouldn't have to worry about (getting sick)."

Pellegrino said at the Batavia event, people weren't allowed to swim in the pool with the animals, and the pool was drained afterward.

Linda Lego of Batavia is sad she won't be able to bring her two dachshunds to the event again. She bought matching life vests for them to wear.

"It's not open to the general public, and anyone paying to take their dogs swimming is not the kind to have sick dogs," she said.

"I think it's a little overreacting."

She attended the event last year with the two dachshunds and her Welsh corgi.

"They had a blast," she said.

The 100-plus residents who had registered already were called last week about the cancellation.

District officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of residents who told them to keep their entry fees as a donation toward a planned dog park at West Main Community Park, Pellegrino said.

Learn police work: The Batavia Police Department is accepting applications for its second Citizens Police Academy.

The free 11-week program will cover topics including criminal law, traffic stops, interrogations and crime-scene processing.

The classes run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays starting Sept. 6. The class is open to people who live or work in Batavia.

Applications are available by calling the police department at (630) 879-2840 and will be accepted through Friday.

Vote Batavia: There're only two more days to vote for Batavia in IKEA's "Small Businesses, Big Dreams" contest. The winning town will get a total of $55,000 in new furniture and cash to improve the interiors of local businesses.

Thirty percent of the towns' scores comes from online voting. Batavia recently fell to third place in the rankings, behind Media, Pa., and Lansing, Mich.

You can vote at www.ikea.com/business/mainstreet through Wednesday. Only one vote per e-mail address will be accepted.