Last Thursday’s first annual DogFest, arranged by the service dog training center My Wonderful Dog of Portland, had beautiful weather and a large crowd of people and their canine counterparts.

DogFest was held to help My Wonderful Dog raise money and to introduce people to what service dogs do for their partners.

At Camp Ketcha in Scarborough the crowd got to see Scarborough police dog Jasou at work sniffing for drugs and tackling officer Tom Chard, service dog Lincoln picking up dropped objects and opening doors, a fast-paced game of flyball and 10 short films all featuring dogs.

All the proceeds went directly to My Wonderful Dog to help them train more service dogs for the disabled.

Jasou the Scarborough police dog put on a serious demonstration. Officer Mike Sawyer pretended to fight with Officer Tom Chard as if Chard was resisting arrest. Sawyer used a remote to release Jasou from the car and everyone watched as Jasou streaked across the field and tackled Chard to the ground. Chard said that in 11 years as an officer he has released a dog from the car only twice. A couple of puppies being trained as service dogs by My Wonderful Dog get acquainted during DogFest. My Wonderful Dog Director Elsa Larsen told the crowd that she loves training the dogs. Trainer Lauren Beaman, who demonstrated service dogsJennifer Breyer came over from Standish with three small bundles of energy, her toy poodles Beana (red), Gracie (brown) and Lilly (black). She was just one of many people who brought their dogs along to the show.Melinda Kimball Cooper, a Jack Russell terrier from New Hampshire, races over a jump during a flyball demonstration by Maine Coast Runners. The game is a relay for dogs who must release a ball by pressing a lever and then jump with it over a series of hurdles. Dogs and their owners march in formation as the Animal Welfare Society Drill Team from Kennebunk performs before the movies started. A lot of effort went into keeping the dogs happy and Camp Ketcha clean for the campers. The evening concluded with dogs and their families enjoying a series of short films projected onto a large screen behind the main barn at Camp Ketcha.