Furry friends to visit Sensory Garden Playground's Play Day July 20

Sensory Garden Playground's Play Days are back for another summer filled with free play for all, and their July date will have a few furry guests.

Free July Play Day will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 20, at 2751 Navistar Drive in Lisle.

Founded in 1975, Canine Companions for Independence is a nonprofit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

The concept began in a home office and a garage and has since grown to six training centers across the country.

Their training professionals possess hundreds of years of cumulative experience in both assistance dog training and instruction to people with over 60 different types of disabilities. According to their website, Canine Companions is the largest provider of assistance dogs in the world. These highly trained assistance dogs and all follow-up support is provided free to recipients. Since their founding, more than 6,000 dogs have been placed with someone in need.

"The goal of our group is to encourage camaraderie, share knowledge, practice and play together to better prepare our Canine Companion for Independence pups to enter advanced training so they can shine," said local CCI puppy raiser Julia Havey.

A canine training session will be taking place from 10 to 11 a.m. It will include specialized training related to skills to be a service dog. An information booth will also be on hand for those who wish to learn more about the organization.

The Sensory Garden Playground is a universally accessible playground nestled in the heart of DuPage County Forest Preserve's Danada South area and developed by the Play for All Playground & Garden Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization.

Currently the space houses a 2- to 5-year-old playground, fragrance garden, sound garden, interactive art sculptures and a central gathering space. The first stage of an accessible tree house will begin construction this summer.

Play Days take place once a month from May through August. This year, DuPage Medical Group will sponsor all four Play Days with a teddy bear checkup. Children are encouraged to bring their plush pals to mirror doctor visits that they would attend to get a better understanding of healthy habits. In addition, Kidlist will be providing goody bags to the first 100 families.

For more information, visit playforalldupage.org.