INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Corgis Gather By The Hundreds In Massive Dog Rescue Effort

By Nancy Bailey
Published on: 07:21 PST, Jun 29, 2016

Corgis took over the day at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on Saturday, June 25, to raise funds for animal rescue organizations.

Corgi Con, a semi-annual event, was created in 2013 when founder Cynthia Lee began to regularly host small gatherings with just a few dogs in Northern California.

But the Corgi craze grew in leaps and bounds when fanciers of the stumpy, rumpy pooches began to take note of the group effort.

On Saturday, over 800 corgis joined the massive takeover on the shoreline to participate in a four-hour beach party which involved raffles, races, a giant group photo, oh, and belly rubs, according to Us Weekly.

Lee said the turnout went beyond what had been planned.

“This is the perfect excuse to come to the beach. The event exceeded our expectations and clearly there is a big love for these corgis.”

Indeed, the event sparks ideas of a doggy heaven; hundreds of the little canine munchkins galloping and rolling in the sand, with sandy paws, panting tongues, and wagging, well, butts.

The two rescues that benefited from Corgi Con were Queen’s Best Stumpy Dog Rescue and Corgi Aid.

Worldwide travelers were drawn to the event, which attracted dog lovers from everywhere. The farthest traveler came all the way from Trinidad, Corgi Con reported on Facebook.

PJ Arrellano, of Hawaii, explained the charisma of the little dogs.

“Corgis are lovable. They always want to play with you and this is a great opportunity for Kona, my dog to play with other Corgis.”

Adam Lingenfelter journeyed all the way from Alabama to propose to his girlfriend at the dog party.

“I brought her here without any knowledge and surprised her. I was pretty nervous but she said ‘yes.'”

Participating corgis got a chance to pose with the world’s most famous celebrity Corgi owner, Queen Elizabeth II. Or, at least, they could be photographed with a cardboard cut-out of the monarch, which was set up with a connecting, Corgi-friendly platform.

The costume contest was a hit. Corgis sported everything from traditional dress to celebrate their heritage (the breed hails from Wales, and is ancient, dating as far back as 1107) to hot dog suits and Marvel comic characters.

The winner of the contest was outfitted like the superhero, Deadpool.

Both varieties of Corgis turned up for the event, and they are actually considered two separate breeds.

The Cardigan Corgi has a tail and is a larger bodied dog, although still sporting the short-legged, pointy-eared appearance so familiar in the breed. The Pembroke is the stumpy-bottomed, foxy-looking dog that the Queen has such an affinity for.

Both types of Corgi were bred for herding cattle. The Pembroke is the more popular of the two breeds. According to AKC, it is a mixture of spitz-type breeds.

“The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has in its ancestry the keeshond, schipperke, pomeranian, samoyed, chow-chow, Norwegian elkhound, and Finnish spitz. It has little or nothing of dachshund characteristics like the Cardigan.”

The next Corgi Con will be held in October, but no date has been set as yet.

[Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Images]

Share this article: Corgis Gather By The Hundreds In Massive Dog Rescue Effort
More from Inquisitr