The Dog Olympix slammed for Islington event during heatwave

The Dog Olympix, run by Archway Dogs, was scheduled to take place in Whittington Park, Holloway, on Sunday (September 10).

Islington Council had initially given permission for the competition, which includes dog agility and catch-the-ball events, to go ahead.

But the authority withdrew its support the day before it was set to take place due to the forecasted warm weather.

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It has now said that it is “disappointing” that the event went ahead with its dog-related activities and has raised the issue with the organiser.

Babs Normile, who won the 2022 Dog Olympix agility competition with her Cavapoochon, Nugget, has raised concerns about the event.

Babs Normile won the 2022 Dog Olympix agility competition with her Cavapoochon, Nugget (Image: Babs Normile)

She told Islington Gazette: “I was really looking forward to Nugget defending his agility title this year, but when I saw the temperatures I made the decision, like any responsible dog parent would, to keep Nugget at home."

She added that she was pleased the council had stepped in but was concerned the event had not properly assessed the risks of heat stroke. 

The organiser of The Dog Olympix, Sunnie De Pass, has now hit back, claiming that she did cancel the high-energy games and only went ahead with low-level activities.

A video shared with this paper appears to show dogs being walked around an obstacle course on the day of the event. 

In a second video, spectators appear to be told that dogs will be "run" on the course on a single occasion and that they they should be "off-lead". 

Ms De Pass said: “We asked spectators to leave their dogs at home, we told people our activities would finish by noon, which they did.

“If we were doing this event in Clissold Park for example, which is wide open, with no tree cover, then we would have cancelled the event.

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“But because it's Whittington Park, in the area we work in, there are lots of trees and deep shade available to cool down.”

She added that there were four paddling pools on the day to allow dogs to cool off and that the event raised nearly £1,000 to install a water fountain in the park.

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We made this [withdrawal of support] very clear to the event organiser and clarified that we were happy for any non-dog related activities, including stalls, music, and the serving of food, to go ahead.”

They added: “We’re also in the process of reviewing our decision-making process for future animal-related events, to ensure that a similar situation does not arise again.”