GONE TO THE DOGS PET FEST CELEBRATES ANIMAL COMPANIONS.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer

NEWBURY PARK - The dog days of summer are here, so Rusty the Australian sheep dog decided Sunday was time to do what any sensible dog would do.

With temperatures sweltering well into the 90s, Rusty lingered in the mini-pool at the first Pet Fest in Newbury Park.

``She goes and lies in it, and she just loves it,'' said Thousand Oaks resident Linda Rolston, who co-owns Rusty with her daughter Kassie Smith, 15.

``This is great. It gets people out with their dogs for some fun, and the dogs socialize, and the owners do too.''

Hundreds of dogs yelped, yipped, barked and panted as their masters mingled and chatted at the event organized by the Animal Hospital of Thousand Oaks and held at the football field at Newbury Park High School.

``It's a way to celebrate pets and their enrichment of our lives,'' said veterinarian and Pet Fest organizer Elizabeth Barr, who co-owns the Animal Hospital of Thousand Oaks with her husband, Robert Lusk.

``And it allows people to see all what there is available for pets.''

Vendors sold everything from flea treatments to poultry-flavored toothpaste and toothbrushes for dogs. Cat and dog mannequins on which to practice pet CPR and first aid were available for prices ranging from $194 to $895.

There were booths for organizations such as Wildlife Care of Ventura County, which provides care and rehabilitation for injured and orphaned wildlife; the Ventura County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit; and the Humane League of Ventura County, which seeks homes for abandoned animals.

Canines ranging in size from little pugs to great Pyrenees sheep dogs gamboled around, seemingly in dog heaven with all the attention.

And dogs with a taste for the theatrical wore fancy dress to participate in a contest that had some dressed as kings and surfers, while their sports-minded colleagues negotiated obstacle courses against the clock.

One of the prizes for the fancy dress contest was ``Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul'' and doggie treats.

Watching his wife, Debby, putting their yellow Labrador, Spencer, through his paces in a show of obedience with other dogs and their owners brought a smile to Thousand Oaks resident Ed Carloni.

Spencer, it seems, was a naughty dog until the Carlonis enrolled him in the Purple Pawpers dog obedience group in Thousand Oaks.

``When he didn't get enough attention he would tear up socks and cushions, and he was very excitable,'' Carloni said.

``But now that he is one year older he is much better. We turned a lemon into a lemonade,'' Carloni said with a laugh.

At Carloni's feet on a lead was their other dog, a fluffy 15-month-old little Havanese called Lola who is worth about $1,000 and is one of only a handful in Southern California.

``Anything I can do with my dogs, I enjoy,'' Carloni said. ``You could say our dogs are our children.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Daisy was a hot dog until she found a cool pool at the Pet Fest, which brought hundreds of animal lovers Sunday to Newbury Park High.

(2 -- color) Sharp-dressed in their Sunday best, a group of pugs cavort with their owners as the Pet Fest took over a school football field Sunday.

(3 -- color) Kassie Smith and her mom, Linda Rolston, relax with pals Panzer and Rusty.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer