I go to the Bay Area Pet Expo every year. I think it's just ok. I actually never expect too much from events held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Being a San Jose native, all events that I have attended at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds were just ok. I feel like the events that are held here can utilize the space a little better. ADMISSION IS FREE! There are two separate buildings. As I remembered, the one on the left was mainly for dogs and the right was for other pets. However, this year (2016), both buildings seemed to be for dogs. There were probably a couple vendors that were for other pets. This year, the building on the right was for dogs up for adoption. In the center of the right building, there was a little stage set up. The stage gave the dogs up for adoption to show off their cuteness! All dogs were super adorable. Their motto of the day was, "DON'T SHOP, ADOPT!" The building on the left consisted of a lot of vendors for dogs. The vendors range from dog training/vets to dog treats/grooming products. Also, this building sells food - FOR HUMANS! They sell a variety of items, but the ones I can remember are hot dog, nachos, fries, shaved ice, smoothies and lemonade. They had a pretty large menu though. I believe it was cash only? I don't remember. I wished the Bay Area Pet Expo was bigger. The two buildings feel so cramped and I get so afraid to step on somebody's dog. NOTE: MAKE SURE TO HAVE PROOF OF YOUR DOG'S VACCINATIONS (MAINLY JUST RABIES). Proof may be their dog tag that shows the year of when they were vaccinated or paperwork. Before entering the buildings, you have to check-in your pet and the volunteers will give you a wristband per party. I also didn't think I would bump into some very rude people. It's obviously super crowded and this woman rose her voice to my friend saying, "MOVE YOUR DOG!" Please understand that it is crowded and their are tons of dogs everywhere! read more

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I enjoyed coming to the bay area expo. Although admission is free, parking is $10. I love that this expo let us bring dogs and socialize with dog lovers. Everyone who worked/volunteer here are really nice. Except one stall which I want to point out at the beginning of my review. AVOID a stall called, Shadypaws Shade. I love their shades and I wanted to take a photo to show my bf if we should get it. The sales guy or whatever was helping a customer and purposely at the same time walked infront of me while talking to a customer. So I turned alittle cause I thought he was just showing her the shades. But no he gave me an attitude saying excuse me, no photos. Im like wow, seriously dude? You're in an expo with a large open space for your booth. I am guarantee people are able to take a photo of your booth. Let alone, you're products is alreadg on social media. Anyway, avoid this booth. The people there are snobs, rude, and lazy. This one lady is just sitting there. Im pretty sure she works there. No one greets you unless you make business with them. Once again, AVOID them. Anywho, everyone (except Shadypaw pet shade), the exhibitors were extremely nice, let us take photos, share on social media, friends, and family. I had fun and so did my 4 legged family. read more

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Free admission. $8 for parking. Something to do with your pet on a weekend. Come early becuase by the afternoon it can get crowded. This being a pet expo, the only pets I saw people bring were dogs and vendors were dog centric. Everything seemed too crowded once it hit afternoon. There are only so many people with their dogs can only fit in front of one booth. The event coordinators should have spaced out the booths a bit more since there was extra room. They had a CPR demo which I appreciated and learned from. The guys from Animal Planet's show Tanked were there. TIP - Save time by printing & filling out required forms at home if your brining a pet. Bayareapetexpo.com. Don't forget to being a copy of immunizbooth. read more

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I wasn't expecting a lot as there was free admission! But I absolutely love my dogs and cat, so I knew that I would have a good time anyway. It was so fun to see so many people bringing their dogs with them. Purebreds, mutts, tiny, giant, young, and old! That's the wonderful thing about dogs- they don't get hung up on anything except making new friends and getting love! There were booths and demos in two of the buildings. The larger building was a lot more crowded, even though the smaller building had more of the adoptable dogs. Four stars because there weren't really any big corporations there. I think Blue Buffalo was the only one? But they were selling their bags of biscuits (retail $10) at one for $3 or two for $5. The cash goes to dog cancer! We picked up two of those and the rep also sent us away with two samples of dry dog food. I did like that they had a ton of local businesses. Whether it was clothing and accessories (collars and leashes) or services (door installation, training, etc) most of the business were small and local! Because I adore cats too, I loved the toygers! There was also a chinchilla and ferret booth. I didn't bring either of my dogs, but maybe I will next year. He doesn't care to socialize with other dogs, but he does like being out and about! This was fun as it is another event where dogs are allowed. I swear, I know so many dogs that behave better than adult humans. So it's ridiculous that they can't enter many businesses. Who knows- maybe that will change some day. One can dream! Oh and if you don't want to pay the $10 for parking, just park on 10th or down the street on Parrott. It's a short walk over and you can put that money towards pet goodies! And please don't forget to check your dog in upon entering! They'll give you a wristband to show that you've provided up to date paperwork on vaccinations, of course. Happy pet expo-ing! read more

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I love it....all these people BITCHING about $8.00 for parking, you spend that much on a couple of crappy cups of low foam, soy, non fat, extra whip, decaffeinated, grande latte at 12bucks..... Get over it...the fee was charged by the FAIRGROUNDS...NOT THE ORGANIZERS....Park in the school next door for a dollar less & donate the parking fee to them. We went along with both our pups, people were great, the booths were on the whole, quite interesting, our friends daughter got to pet a snake & we saw a Doggy Bride & Groom, as well as dock diving, protection training & agility course demo's. The CaliK9 trainers had a huge presence there, and were the highlight of the event from my point of view.... We got lots of treats for my pups, met a bunch of great people, and didn't have any issues with aggression from other pups or even the couple of cats on leashes we saw! Hell yes, they checked immunization, have you seen how many stray dogs there are around San Jose? LOADS....And wouldn't YOU rather know that the dogs you and your pets are going to be hanging out with are fit & healthy? I know I did.... One suggestion for next year......set up the immunization check near the gates, so you don't have a big tailback at the entrances. Other than that, thank you for a fun day out.... UPDATE.......MARCH 4th Why am I getting calls form companies offering timeshare & cruises following this event? All calls start...Hi, as you attended the Bay Area Pet Expo, we would like to give you the opportunity....... BAD, BAD MOVE SELLING THE ATTENDEE LIST TO MAILING COMPANIES BAY AREA PET EXPO.... Update #2....March 11th.... Had a nice message from the organizers saying they do not sell their clients information to 3rd parties, and certainly not to a cruise line.... They said tey will look into it, and get back to me..... Update when I hear from them. read more

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PARKED next to the expo at the elementary school...was $10 this year in 2016... and the money helps out the school :) might have to get there at the right time or else their lot is full. We got there at 11am, and they were filling up fast. BRING YOUR VACCINATION DOCS & PRINT OUT THE PET WAIVER AHEAD OF TIME! We got checked off right away and straight on in through a "VIP" door (you might have to ask someone which door it is) otherwise the line to get in to fill out the pet waiver & get your vaccination docs checked off takes a LONG time. GOODY BAGS! FREE TREAT SAMPLES! Lots of other friendly dogs...of course there is always at least one aggressive dog who sneaks in (who charged barking and growling at my dog nearly knocking over a poster stand...thank goodness his owner was a guy and was able to hold the dog back in time before the whole booth came down and before anybody got hurt! whew!). SHORTY PIT BOSS I'm not actually familiar with who he is, but at 11am, the line wasn't long to meet him. AGILITY course outside was SUPER interesting to watch the dogs racing and jumping over hurdles. OBSTACLE course in the 2nd building seemed cool, but our dog just looked at us like we were crazy when we tried to lead him through it haha. The worker asked for dogs NOT to sniff each other while inside the course, which was hard to prevent. Most tables were manned by friendly people. ONE table had a BOSSY mean lady who yelled at me to come to her table (I'm not a dog, she should have asked politely). I went out of niceness anyway because she was by herself at an empty table (no materials on the table at all and nobody talking to her). She then started lecturing me in a condescending way about how I'm ruining my dog and what I need to buy (uh, why is this lady giving me advice when I didn't even ask her for it?). She asked if I live in an apartment or a house. Why are those the only 2 options? I answered condo, and she said "Ok, well your place is probably too small...." Why assume my condo is small? Some condos are bigger than a house. Instead, she should have asked how big my home is. She then asked if my dog is fixed or not, which I didn't see how that question was relevant to anything, and when I said, "No, not yet," she was quiet and gave a "look". I didn't appreciate her 'barking' at me to come to her table, and when I did she was bossy, judgmental, and condescending. Nevertheless, I bit my tongue, said thank you, and left. No wonder nobody was talking to her. OVERALL enjoyed the expo...knocked off a star because the 1st building had narrow aisles, and there was plenty of room at the other end of the building, so I feel like they could have spaced the aisles more because most aisles were SO packed it was hard to walk through including where the pet adoptions were. Maybe more than one entrance door should be available where people can fill out pet waivers and get vaccination docs checked. Concession FOOD didn't seem that popular, and someone said it's expensive so might want to eat ahead of time or bring some snacks. read more

We paid $10 for parking, so technically about $5 each for a day at the pet expo, even though admission was "free." Overall, this was a nice afternoon out for me and my fiance, but not something we would need to do again. The weather was beautiful, which made it a great day out for owners and pets. But there weren't as many booths or shows (entertainment) as I expected. It was only one building and things were really crammed together, which made it a little uncomfortable and hot. The stage for the shows were small and the costume competition didn't have many participants so it was underwhelming. They also didn't have many dogs or cats there for adoption. I expected more. I also wanted more cat vendors! Everyone there were dog people and I have a pet cat so most of the booths didn't apply to me! But the saving grace here was the K-9 show. They had dogs that looked like police dogs from the K-9 unit do a demonstration on how they would bring down the criminals. The dogs were amazingly cute, obedient, and able to really protect their owners. This was fun to watch, especially after watching pet owners try to get their untrained dogs to do an obstacle course. You could really tell the difference!!! read more

Dog lover? Have a dog? This should be an event for you to attend in the future! The Pet Expo is not a bad of an event to take your dog to! In fact, it was pretty fun for Po (my dog) and I. There were many vendors that sold a lot of things that you can find in stores discounted such as toys, dog clothes, collars, leashes, etc. A lot of the money they raise proceeds to animal care, animal shelters and other causes. Your fur baby/ furry best friend will get free samples from mostly every vendor. I was able to pick out 3 cute bows for him! One of the buildings that was mostly based on adoptions also had free nail trimming! The puppies/ dogs were super cute. There were also survivor pigeons that were so magnificent. A lot of people enjoyed being able to carry them and taught how to hold properly with also some background information on every pigeon. They also had fun obstacle courses for your dogs to try out. I was so surprised & glad that Po was able to get through a lot of the less complicated ones. I'm surprised because Po can be a chicken but he went through it like a "little oddball rockstar"! For both buildings, they also had a inside 'pet potty area' with fake turf. It was a good idea to avoid dogs laying one out somewhere even though chances are they already did.. Some downsides that I noticed previous reviews have mentioned is that it was pretty cramped. That's something I agree to because there were barely any direct walkway without bumping into people or having the fear of stepping on paws and tails! Even though the event was split into 2 buildings, the one building with a ton of vendors felt too small. It would have been great outdoors but probably from the unpredictable weather, it was better to be safe indoors. I would maybe recommend a bigger venue. Other things mentioned is the parking which was $10 this year. I didn't find that as bad because it's a FREE event and the money proceeds to the elementary school right next to the fairgrounds! If you're willing to walk about a block away, there's some free street parking too! Overall, a great event that needs some tweaking for the future. It's always a fun idea to take your dog to events like this to help them interact more! As always, I recommend always bringing papers with you & updating your animals vaccinations! read more

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I'm sorry people, but I was completely un-impressed with this Pet Expo. Bark in the Park is FAR better. Maybe it was because it was indoors. Maybe it was because it was later in the day and it was pretty picked over. Maybe it was because it was inside and felt claustrophobic. Maybe it's because a lot of the vendors weren't very happy. I'm not sure what it was, but I had a pretty not fun time. Auzzy enjoyed it for the most part, but he, like me was kinda bored. I saw the same vendors you see at every Pet Expo and some of them were so stand offish. Me no likey. I'm glad I found free parking, because paying $8 I would have been disappointed. I will say I'm glad they were actually checking vaccination records cause a lot of events DO NOT. So it's for that they get a +1 star. I don't think I'll come back next year. read more

4 days before the event. Website has no hours, no date, no location, no parking information, no pricing information, over half of the vendor and schedule information is "coming soon". If they did not have a Facebook page (which you can't ask questions on) I wouldn't have the most basic information. Hopefully the event is better run than the website. read more

I looked at the vendor list before attending, so I knew the Expo would have a massive adoption presence and perhaps not a whole lot else I was interested in checking out. Why did I go, then? I wanted to support this kind of event. I'd be really curious to find out how many animals were adopted because of this expo (puppies/kittens to seniors were available). I totally got my puppy fix. If someone was looking to adopt, I would be shocked to hear s/he did not find an animal to bring home. I didn't even try to find parking at the fairgrounds, but instead found street parking and saved my $8. My medium sized dog is pretty shy, but I had no problems with obnoxious children trying to pet him (several asked, but were respectful when he was clearly hesitant and interested in being pet, love well-trained children!), all the dogs we ran into (sometimes literally) were completely well-behaved. The Splash dog and Agility demos were fun. Would love to have seen equipment available for newbies to try out. Perhaps if the venue could be expanded, opportunities for a fun run or a "try it out" area might be available. This event was incredibly loud, so if you have a sound sensitive animal with you, be cautious. Zoom was bit overwhelmed at the beginning (and we came early), but by the time the crowd had peaked, he had relaxed. I really liked how most of the adoption booths were against the outer walls of the hall with a secondary barrier so that people didn't have to try to squeeze by clumps of people considering dogs or talking to adoption volunteers. During the peak crowd time, the aisles were not wide enough for people to walk through with their pets and for people to be standing in front of a booth talking with the vendors. For a free event, this was a fun way for Zoom and I to spend a morning together. He got lots of treats (both free and purchased by me) and got to greet lots of dogs (one of his favorite activities). read more

Wow people... you're bitching about them checking vaccine records?? Bitching about parking fee's that the organizers didn't charge??? GET OVER IT! We took our two pups, saw several friends and met many new people. We had a great time, and the boys really enjoyed themselves. I was excited to see the demo's, CaliK9, the dock diving, the Pitbull Mr & Mrs., etc. The vendors an rescue groups were all very nice and happy to spend the time explaining who they are and what they do. (Some even gave goodies to the furry kids). Our friends daughter even got to hold a snake! I will agree that it would be nice to have things spread out over more space, and maybe have them checking the vaccine records near the main gate. We'll definitely go back again. read more

This was the Bay Area Pet Expo's FIRST expo here in San Jose. First people, FIRST. It can only get better from here, right?? Let's be positive about this!!! Rarely does an event like this come around to San Jose! I was very excited about this expo! The parking is not determined by the expo, that is determined by the Santa Clara Fairgrounds so that is not fair to rate the Bay Area Pet Expo for that. Need to contact the Fairgrounds or rate the Fairgrounds for that decision. Sure, the venue was too small. I made sure to look out for paws and tails. I truly think that the Bay Area Pet Expo has taken this into consideration for next years! That speaks volumes! They realize and are taking suggestions from people who attended and know what they need to do to make it better for next year! I LOVED watching the Splash Dogs!!! No way did I think they looked dumbfounded at all!!! Those dogs were focused and loved every jump!! I only ever was able to watch that on TV. It was fun watching the event in person! Not disappointed at all! :) I did not bring my Boston Terrier. I knew she would not be comfortable around so many other dogs for she sees it as playtime when around another dog. It would have just overwhelmed her. So being the good pet parent that I am, I left her at home. Vendors spoke to me even if I didn't have a dog attached to me. I bought the Companion Collar from a vendor, Daisy Paw. They were very friendly and explained everything. Yes, it was tough getting through the crowd for them but I made it! LOL! My other favorite was the Cat Coach, Marilyn Krieger. Friendly and very informative. I listened to everything she said and she saved my cats life!!! The only people I saw that were rude at the expo were some of the other pet owners. I tried to talk to a few Boston owners and was snubbed. Fine, I talked to other pet owners then! LOL Constructive criticism can only help the Bay Area Pet Expo for next year! I look forward to attending again! :) read more

I spent most of yesterday at the Pet Expo. There were good things and bad things about the event. There should be a bigger venue. The space where the event took place wasn't large enough for all the vendors, activities and attendees. I was working at one of the "rescue" tables/booths. We had hundreds of inquiries and educated the public about our organization. That was fantastic. I agree it was hard to move around because the crowds were big. But isn't that a good problem to have? It was also VERY hot inside the building. We are a huge area where many many of us have dogs. I did see other pets, a horse, cats, a couple of pigs. Yes it was $8 to park, but you could park across the street, walk a bit and park for free. I will go again next year if you have it again in this area. What about the Cow Palace next year or a large facility? As far as the negative feedback...one can always find the negative in anything, but as a whole it was a great event! read more

They really organized this event very well! You walk in and right up front is the waiver sign in. I loved how they made a point to insure the safety of the animals that came. Shorty was there, the line was HELLA long so we didn't wait to meet him. They had a ton of different companies, adoptions, and play areas for the dogs. Parking was between 7-9 bucks, but entrance was free. I didnt see any poo bags, however I did see volunteers cleaning up. The place was very clean considering how many four legs were walking around. TONS of water bowls and treats. I didn't see any unfriendly dogs which was great! I loved how they included not just dogs and cats but there were reptiles, guinea pigs, birds, bunnies, and even insects. I will definitely be back next year. Thanks for an informative afternoon. read more

Canceled!! Jan 13 and 14, 2018 we paid to have a vendor booth. No notice! No money ($350) returned! Shocking reveal that the owner has done this before! All vendors are out the money they paid! Possible that the event location is also screwed. read more

I have volunteered at this expo a few years in a row and love working with all of the rescue animals and also shopping for my own pets in the other building. Will continue to volunteer as it is such a cool event where people can share their love of animals :) read more

I was able to check out the Bay Area Pet Expo this past weekend and it was held indoors. It was a bit chilly that day, so I was thankful but I was hot. They were blasting the heater and there were tons of people with their pets in the small space. Tons of vendors, mostly geared toward dogs. Which is fine with me, since I own a dog, but kinda feel bad for the cat and other pet owners who had one or two booths they could visit. Tons of contests, prizes and free swag. I'm thankful they had a booth for Dog is Good, which is a brand I absolutely love for their innovative water bottle for dogs. I was able to pick one up! The expo itself was a little boring. We signed up for some drawings, picked up tons of swag and was able to socialize the pup with all sorts of people and pets. It was fun, but short lived. I'm happy it was a free event, kinda bummed the parking was $8. read more

I know it's free, but it still sucks. This was the 1st time going here and it just was not worth the time. I've always gone to the OC Pet Expo which is pretty great, so this fails in comparison. It needs more vendors and events. One lousy food truck and 2 very sad food stands that are part of the fairground. read more

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The organizer cancelled and promised to issue a credit months ago and they still haven't. I am running a start up charity and losing the money hurts my organization. read more

For a first time out, the expo folks did a great job of attracting a good variety of vendors. Yes, more dog than cat focused (not a problem here, though); more small dog than large dog focused (would like to see more big dog "stuff" -- I have two); and it was crowded (jeez, folks, they couldn't have predicted that so many of us would descend upon SanJo for this). Next year, it will be bigger, better and hopefully a little closer to the mid-part of the Bay Area (like Oakland or SF). That said, the agility and splash dog events were very cool. It was great to see so many rescues getting their word out and adopting out doggies and kitties to loving homes. I also found out about some goods and services that I was not aware of prior, so that made the drive down from Oakland well worth it. I'll go again next year, for sure. read more

I would like to address the comments posted toward my review. There was nothing hateful in my FB post. The Splash dogs just stood there looking like they had no idea what to do while the lady kept giving them commands over and over. I don't think calling them dumbfounded was hateful. It's interesting all the 5 star reviews I'm seeing. Those people registered yesterday and today. Padding your ratings much Pet Expo? I stand by everything I said. I also e-mailed them directly which they never responded to. I feel my comments were deleted because they were made during the event. They didn't want people to not go and waste their time (gosh that's such a hateful comment isn't it?), if adoption, few vendors and mostly dogs was not your thing. Also, I'm sure they are getting a piece of that overpriced parking. As far as saying I'm trying to drive people away from the event to boost my own business, that's completely ridiculous. Do I have a link to my website or my business name in my profile? No. I wrote a fair and honest representation of this event. Take the 5 star ratings with a grain of salt. I'm happy to see a few honest reviews being posted. This event should be renamed the Bay Area Dog and Donate All Your Money Expo! If you don't have a dog, it's a big waste of time. I would like to say that I attempted to post a fair and honest review on their FB page. Each comment was promptly deleted. It speaks volumes when a business cannot take negative criticism. The parking was ridiculous. Overcrowded and expensive. ( $8 ) The venue was way too small. People could barely move around and adding the fact that many had dogs (some not so well behaved), it made it difficult to even get close to any of the vendors. Everything was almost exclusively for dogs. One tiny booth had some kind of fencing for outdoor cats, no aquatics, one booth for birds, a small pony (which was in a cramped, very tiny space), and rats. Speaking of vendors, there were very few that actually sold anything. The majority of booths were asking for donations or adoptions. I don't have a problem helping those in need, but I don't expect it to take up well over half of the event. A large part of the space was dedicated to the Splash Dogs ( whom just stood on the platform looking dumbfounded ), and the agility arena. They did have a vaccination clinic. If you could get to it, I'm sure that would be a good benefit. Most of the vendors/donation/adoption people weren't very friendly. If you didn't have a dog attached to you, I guess your money or time wasn't any good. Don't get me wrong, I like dogs it's part of what I do for a living. (Pet sitting and pet care) I feel that this event should be marketed as such. I certainly would not have wasted part of my day had I known what to expect. It wasn't the playful, fun shopping experience that was advertised. If I could rate them a minus I would. read more

This was a well-organized and fun event! They did a good job of keeping the adoptions area separate from the other booths and there was a lot of free stuff being given out (pens, frisbees, keychains, etc.) They had raffles, obstacle courses, and even a celebrity or two! It was a good place to connect with other people who love their pets as much as I do :) My only complaint is that although they were trying to keep all the dogs safe by having people sign that they were up-to-date on their vaccines, I saw people just walking in without being noticed because there was nobody blocking people from getting in. On a side note, there was an announcement that people were leaving their dogs in the car for the whole event and i'm like SERIOUSLY?? You come to a pet expo and you don't know to not leave your defenseless dog in the car on a hot day? Very disappointing San Jose :( read more

Be informed! My daughter & I went to this event, she brought her little kitty and I brought our dog. What a fun day. There was quite a lot of everything, unique gifts for pet lovers, items for your furry friends and lots of information. They even had a giant swimming pool where they held a dog jumping contest-very cool. We left having had a great time. So, yesterday while opening my mail, I got a bill stating that cats have to be liscensed. I consider myself to be a very responsible pet owner. All of our animals are fixed and vaccinated and our dog licsensed. Perhaps it's just stupidity on my part, but I didn't realize that cats too had to be lisensed. Apparently, they use this opportunity at check-in(they say just to make sure your pet is vaccinated) to get money from you. Of course this bill must be paid or you get stuck with a $100.00 fine. All in all it is a great event and I certainly don't regret going--just beware. read more

Hi All, I got there late in the afternoon, but my family and I had tons of fun! We brought out Boston Terrier and our Shih Tzu Puppy, and both loved the major attention! The people around were very polite and courteous We didn't get a chance to see agility, but my son and I loved the splash dogs! For CL, I am hoping that I wasn't one who snubbed you for the Boston terriers, if so I apologize. I am partially deaf and the noise was kind of overwhelming! Got our puppy fix! I hope that the Saint Bernard got adopted. I would of if I didn't have 3 dogs already My only complaint was it was overcrowded, but since it is the first one here in the Bay Area, I expected it. Hopefully next year it will be in a bigger venue. One last comment, for those who complained about the parking prices. Try parking at other venues around the Bay Area and you pay double, sometimes triple that amount. 8 dollars is nothing. read more

It was a fun and exciting event. The only thing was the long line to get in to the parking. I think they should of used the parking across the street. overall my dog had a lots of fun and getting plenty of free goodies. Maybe next year they should expand to a bigger place. =) I had a great time meeting all the vendors and also donating a bag of dog food. read more

The Bay Area Pet Expo was so much fun for both my dog and family. What a great event! Tons of demonstrations, lots of vendors and more than enough pet adoptions. I literally spent my entire day there checking everything out and watching all the fun activities. Lov'd it and would highly recommend attending the next one. read more

We had the pleasure of attending the Pet Expo this weekend with our GSD and had an awesome time! There were a lot of pet info, exhibits, demos and free give aways... read more

One of the organizers of the expo sent me a message about my review and assured me that they're working on improving the event for next year. I think it's great that the organizers really care about making this event better and I look forward to checking it out again next year! read more

I decided not to bring my dog as she is older and would not have liked the crowds. I am glad I made that decision, it was far more crowded than I thought it would be and also rather hot and stuffy inside. I did not have to wait in line for parking as I had a ride that dropped me off across the street, the line for parking was incredibly long! I arrived around 11:00. I enjoyed watching the splash dogs, agility course and the Police dogs. I also was happy to see so many shelters and rescue booths to bring attention to the huge problem of so many pets in shelters. I hope the event was successful in adopting out many pets. I think the venue was too small for the activities and booths. I felt sorry for some of the shelter animals, some seemed very stressed and in cages too small for their size; especially some of the bigger dogs. It was difficult to talk with some shelter and rescue vendors due to the loudness and many of the dogs barking. I know the vendors and rescue booths were trying very hard to make the dogs look happy and adoptable but some of these dogs just seemed overwhelemed. I think this is a good concept, however, the arena needs to be larger and more space needs to be provided for the animals in cages. read more

it was alright. a little disorganized maybe. i really feel like they needed to publicize the fact that you have to bring vaccination records. i could have done that, but i had no idea they were needed, and there's no way i was gonna go home to get them, especially since i came here with another person and her dog, that would be two trips. we parked near grocery outlet and walked a few blocks, didn't feel like paying for parking. when we got to the door of the main building, we were told if we didn't have our dogs' vacc records, they had no idea what we should do. i was a little surprised. they told us to go to the other building and get instructions. we went over there, but they had no idea why we were sent there and had no info to offer us. ultimately we just walked back to the main building and went in the second door, there were no greeters there. there were a lotta cute dogs here, and tons of rescue dogs available for adoption, including some pretty adorable puppies. i saw a number of shih-tzus, which i have, but the adoption fee seemed awfully high for a rescue, upwards of $400. eh, i wouldn't pay for a pure-bred dog anyway, mine was given to me by someone who couldn't keep him. i did buy an inexpensive, kinda girly sweater for my boy, and he wore it around the event. petco was selling spins on their wheel for $1, and you could win things like a tennis ball with the petco label on it. my dog found a stray one that someone had lost i guess, and he was happy trotting around the event with it in his mouth. i agree with kari that bark in the park is better. tons more space, more food, more demos and contests, and you just had to sign a form certifying your dog is vaccinated against rabies. i saw the largest dog i have ever seen in my life here. some sort of mastiff mix i believe, he was well upwards of 200 lbs. the second, much smaller building had non-dogs, like rabbits for adoption, a chinchilla booth, and lots of reptiles. i can't complain about the loads of free treats and bags. the best free item was a bag full of stuff from banfield pet hospital, including one of those fold-open portable water bottles for dogs. i would love to come back again. read more

I wanted to love this event, but it was a huge disappointment. I drove over an hour to get there, then waited 30 minutes for parking, which cost $8. I went with a friend who brought her dog with her, and via the facebook page we found out proof of rabies was required for each dog attending as well as signing a release form in order to get in. While I understand the thinking behind this, it is really a hassle and not necessary. I am active showing my dog and attending dog shows with thousands of dogs all over the US, and am never asked for proof of vaccines or to sign a release. They don't do this at any other pet related event in the area that I have ever attended. When we arrived there was no one at the door we went in checking vaccines though, so that was nice. We didn't have to sign a release either. The Bay Area Pet Expo posted on their facebook page that they were checking at the Main entrance. We never saw the main entrance. Once inside it was overcrowded to the point of not being able to walk down the aisles and see the vendors. Most of the booths we could see were around the perimeter and were rescues adopting out puppies/dogs. The dog we brought is pretty bomb proof, never has spooked at anything other than a marching band 3 feet away going by with a Tuba. He was okay at first, but it was so crowded that 2 dogs tried to go after him aggressively when we were passing by, and one lady who was walking quickly through the crowd holding her baby & dragging her dog that was frantically trying to get around all the people/other dogs slammed into the back of my legs, knocking me off balance. The owner didn't notice and kept dragging her dog, taking out our dog and tangling their leashes together and STILL didn't notice! We had to yell "Hey, stop!!" 3 or 4 times to get her attention. Our dogs were stuck head to head tangled together! I just think she was overwhelmed and couldn't handle having her child and dog in the huge crowd. It was hard enough for the 2 of us to get through. That was the breaking point for our dog, he was totally freaked out. We went back to our car, had to re-park in the shade (which took us another 30 minutes), and leave him there for his own safety/comfort. Heading back dog free was much better, we were able to squeeze in and see more of the booths. I was disappointed with the number of booths selling things, though did like the awesome aquarium booth, the Paco Collars booth, an organic dog treat booth and the Murphy Dog (I think that was the name?) photography booth. There were a ton of rescue booths and booths for services which was fine, but I was there to shop and didn't buy anything (already have a collection of Paco Collars, or that would have been my purchase). There were agility & police dog demonstrations (seemed good but due to the crowd couldn't see), splash dogs which seemed fun but couldn't get over there to watch, and some type of training demo but I couldn't hear the speaker who wasn't using the microphone on the stage. I would have considered attending if they held it next year and addressed the overcrowding and parking issues. But then they asked for feedback on their facebook page and responded defensively to people who left honest opinions about the overcrowding and parking. This morning I was glad to see them address those issues saying they would fix those for next time (yay!), but then saw their post here, and I just can't support an event that is so unprofessional and unable to take constructive criticism. read more

I've been to Pet Expos before and this one SUCKED. It's way over crowded. You can't move. People were stepping on my dog and I could not enjoy the vendors, nor could he enjoy himself. This is basically just a place for rescues to try to get animals (dogs, mostly) adopted. Other than that, it's just a few vendors with clothes and the usual over-priced suposedly organic treats and such. There were very limited animals other than dogs. The Pet Expo in Orange County has EVERY breed of dog and cat on display in their own booth -- very interesting. Then,many, many buildings designated for pigs, rabbits, reptiles, rats and other rodent friends. Outside, there were elephants, giraffes, llhamas, etc -- and a petting zoo too. There were several food vendors with fair-type food. Now, THIS is a pet expo. The San Jose one is a joke. NOT worth my time. read more

The Bay Area Pet Expo by far surpassed my expectation. The only complaint I have was the $8 dollar parking and the long lines/waits it took to get into the parking lot. That aside I and both my dogs had a blast. What a turn out! I am in my third 3 of college and hope to one day own my own dog related business and boy did this get my confidence up! The support from the entire county was incredible. The way the event was set up was fantastic. The adoption booths were really along the outside row of the vendor area. This worked out great because I was not looking to adopt a dog, however I was looking to support the rescue groups that were there trying to find amazing dogs, amazing homes. You all know that a real true dog lover sometimes gets carried away when you see 100's of dogs for adoption so I tried to stay away and the Expo made it easy by keeping the adoptions on the outside rows. I LOVED splash dogs. I have a Chihuahua and a Basset X puppy and seeing the excited Labs and Huskies get into that pool was a blast. I also really liked that there was an agility ring. I have always wanted to get my Chihuahua into agility and I got a chance to do so at the Pet Expo. The shot clinic was perfect to get my puppy her round of shots and to get my Chihuahua up to date on his. They even did a complimentary nail trim. I was VERY pleased with the shot clinic. There were a few vendors selling things. The best was Blue Buffalo (the dog food!). They had wholesale prices on there dog food. I saved over 100 dollars purchasing dog food at the event. I also found matching Giants Fleece Shirts for both of my dogs. They are precious in them and ready for the 2011 season. Besides that Petco, Nature's Balance, Ban field, and a few other MAJOR pet places were giving out TONS of freebies. COMMON people who doesn't LOVE freebies especially if its for your four legged best friend, I would go back to the expo again and would like to congratulate the staff on such a great turnout and outcome. You guys were great and helpful. read more

I was attracted to this event because of the vendors and demos. I also enjoy travelling with my dog and love to find events to attend. I enjoyed the event up to a point. First, it would have been helpful to have included info about parking cost ($8) and other parking options available on the website since the traffic was crazy (and since I was travelling from out-of town this would help for others planning on attending). I would have loved to watch more of the demos,and Splash Dogs, but I found that it was hard to hear the demos/annoucement. The Splash Dogs was fun, but again it was crowded and hard to find an area to watch from and not be bumped into or be worrying that someone might step on my dog's paw/tail (since the walkway for other vendor tables was in the same area). For the demos I think it would be great to have a different set-up so that more can find a seat and be able to hear/watch the demo. I would have loved to see more of the demos but I just couldn't hear enough of it. The vendors were great, there were lots of deals to be had and samples or information. I would suggest putting the adoptions groups together or have an area for them since I found it hard to talk to someone at their table or to even walk in the area. I liked having the mobile grooming there and the vaccination clinic, such a great thing, especially when vaccinations can be expensive and everyone should keep up on the vaccines. Again here I can see improvement on placement and signup for this part. Maybe have some rope marking that off so others can walk by. And I found and the time progressed that it became increasing hard to hear the person at a vendor's table. Their were so many people and their pets that it became very loud and crowded (the biggest problem I saw). The walk ways were not big enough for people walking through, and people stopping and the booths and having their pets with them I love that there were alot of Bay Area businesses there but I would love to see one's from Sacramento and Napa/Sonoma as there are businesses/rescues in these areas and pet owners from these areas. Or have a separate event for the Sacramento and Napa/Sonoma areas! Again it would be nice to see owners have their pets on a leash not a flexi or retracable (I saw few of these mostly little dogs). I think it makes it safer in such a busy event. Overall great event, great vendors, demos, etc. A few adjustments for next year and it can be better than ever. read more

This was a lot of fun! I went to this in early February 2012. There are two long warehouse style buildings with vendor booths, and there are a lot of people, many of which have their dogs with them. (I wouldn't recommend bringing certain other pets that might get in a fight with a dog.) Anyway, it was fun to walk around for a while and take in everything. I'm looking forward to other events at the fairgrounds now (this was my first). read more

We want to adopt a second dog and the Bay Area Pet Expo sounded like the perfect place to do it. They advertised a Mega Adoption Event with dozens of rescue agencies. Instead, there were 3-4 rescue agencies with between 25-50 dogs. It was very disappointing. I wish the even coordinators had an up-to-date list of rescue agencies that had committed to coming to the Expo. read more

Had a great time, took some pictures too! Wish that it was outdoor, at least the splashdogs and agility demonstrations, especially since it was a pretty good day and there definitely is room for it! read more

Good event with some issues for the Pet Expo people to address for next year. Very crowded/loud and they needed more space for people & dogs to walk around (but they didn't expect the crowd numbers). Parking fee of $8.00 and long wait was upsetting to some people. Demos were great and fun. Need to avoid flea market sales enviroment at the mega-adoption area and have animal control officers on-site to inspect and guide animal adoption laws. I'm glad the expo management did read and replied to the complaints/issues and hopefully will be responsible to implement and enforce their policies. read more