Dogs are currently permitted to attend MN Renaissance Festival with their owners, following certain vaccination guidelines and leash rules. 
Although this has been a perk for many people, there is an increasing number of Fest visitors with every year, and with that, an increased number of animal-related incidents.

Every season, Fest employees see more and more dogs fall victim to:

• Overstimulation
• Overheating
• Dust in eyes/ears/mouth/nose
• Injuries
• Bee stings
• Swallowing dangerous items like turkey legs, bones, other items on the ground
• Unexpected dog biting incidents (even from the sweetest of dogs) which becomes a big legal issue

The dog-friendly rules were created a long time ago, when the festival was much less crowded. These days, nearly every day of the Fest is filled with more and more people and is no longer ideal for our furry friends to attend. 

Let’s stand together as animal-lovers, and vouch for the dogs. Especially the dogs that are brought by owners who value the ‘fun’ idea more than safety.

Many people get excited about dressing up their dog in a themed costume, but even this seemingly small act has led to overheating and overstimulation, with subsequent agitation and even aggression from stressed animals.

Fest employees often see animals put into parked cars because the dog became overheated or stressed inside the fair. This is even worse, since temperatures can reach over 120° in the car while you are enjoying the fair. There are numerous calls every year to the sheriff’s department to retrieve dogs from hot cars on the lots.

Things can go wrong very quickly and become uncomfortable, dangerous, or even life-threatening for your dog, other animals, or people. This statement is based on several incidents at the festival in just the past few years. Every incident was completely unexpected, but will sadly forever change the lives of the dogs and the people affected.

The time has come to put the dogs’ safety first, and petition to change the Festival’s dog rules. The impact is louder when we all use our voices together. This petition is to request that MN Renaissance Festival management changes the rules and no longer permits dogs to attend (excluding actual service dogs). This would include eliminating the designated “Woofstock” weekend as well. Yes, this would be a big change to the festival rules, and would break traditions for many people.

This entire petition for change is based out of the upmost love, adoration, and respect for all animals, especially dogs. All points stated are to protect the safety of our beloved pets, the pets of others, the animals who reside at the festival (petting zoo, horses, etc.), and other festival-goers.

Please sign this petition if you are in agreement with the above statements.