Wanting to find a venue where our attendees could bring their dogs, the University of Las Vegas offered us their 9 acres of practice football fields by Sam Boyd Stadium which had previously only been used by the University football team. The move worked, attracting over 10,000 attendees in our third year and another 3000 dogs to the fields now known as Star Nursery Fields. Pet-a-Palooza essentially created a new venue for the University with its success, now attracting other events to that field including other music festivals and professional dog shows.

Year 3 was also the first year we invited any animal rescue group that wanted to participate freely in the event and share in a portion of the gate proceeds. We wanted animal rescue to become the heart of Pet-a-Palooza, and had 20 groups participate in 2002. This year we will have over 40 different animal rescue groups on-site representing large shelters to individual dog breed groups, from cats and horses to ferrets and reptiles. As long as they are truly rescuing animals in our area, Petapalooza welcomes all local animal non-profit organizations.

Pet-a-Palooza has also been the home of many Mix 94.1 recording artists on-stage, including Jewel, Live, Bowling for Soup, Dishwalla, Los Lonely Boys, Better than Ezra, Lifehouse and more. Most of the performances are acoustic so you can enjoy the music without hurting your best friend's ears (your dog!)

EVERY Pet-a-Palooza has been larger than the year before, even in inclement weather! The event now draws over 20,000 attendees and approximately 4,000 dogs....and a few parrots, snakes, and pot-bellied pigs. It is the largest animal event in the state of Nevada, and we hope the largest event that both celebrates animals in our lives and finds homes for animals that need them.