Corgis have been one of the biggest crazes when it comes to dog breeds, but sometimes popularity has its downfalls.
The recent love for corgis caused a social media event to go viral, forcing it to be shut down.
The “Corgi Huddle” set to take place on April 23 at the Jaycee Dog Park in Deerfield has been cancelled due to the amount of interest it received.
Kendall Seale, of Grayslake, created a Facebook event inviting corgi owners to an April Corgi Conference in Deerfield. Coinciding with the popularity of the breed, the event went viral with thousands planning to attend.
Rick Julison, executive director of the Deerfield Park District said he first heard about the event through an article on Deerfield Patch.
“It was something put out on Facebook without our knowledge,” Julison said.
Seale had not visited the park prior to organizing the event and is not a resident of Deerfield. Park district officials were concerned after seeing the amount of people who RSVP’d to the event. The less-than-half-acre dog park located at 1026 Wilmot Road could not handle that large of a crowd.
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“We had to track her down on Facebook,” Julison said. “She was unfamiliar with the park and its size. Due to the amount of following she was receiving, there was no way an event that size could happen at the park.”
Julison contacted Seale on Thursday, explaining the park district’s event approval process and asked her to cancel the event. Seale made the announcement Thursday on the event’s Facebook page:
“THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED!! With the amount of people wishing to attend, the park district informed me on the safety hazards and that their park cannot handle this many people," she wrote. "I’m sorry to have to do this, but out of respect and safety of other people in the area, I have to cancel this.”
The page has since been deleted. Seale did not respond to requests for comment.
Seale had also previously hosted a similar event in West Dundee in March with about 30 corgis and their owners. This event was also organized through Facebook.
This was not the first corgi event in the Chicago area. Montrose Dog Beach held a Corgi Beach Day last September. With more than 1,000 people to RSVP, the event was almost cancelled, but Facebook organizers moved the event to the Chicago Area Corgi Owners Facebook group making it more exclusive and home to a smaller group.
