Photographers and TV producers are regularly heard to mutter the great words of wisdom – “Never work with children or animals”. But charity RSPCA ACT broke both of those rules during its recent, successful world record attempt.
 
Knowing that the record for most dogs wearing bandanas was 364, held by Golden Rescue in Canada, RSPCA ACT was convinced it could do better at its ‘Million Paws Walk’ fundraising event. 
 
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An annual dog walk that often attracts thousands of owners and their dogs, the Million Paws Walk is the biggest regular gathering of dogs in Canberra, the Australian capital city.
 
By 9am at picturesque Commonwealth Park, hundreds of dogs and owners were already gathering in almost zero degrees of late-Autumn cold. 
 
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Children, adults and bandana-clad dogs began flowing through the gates, and being counted by a Guinness World Records representative as well as two independent witnesses, one hour later.
 
The counting itself was a challenge as dogs bolted through the gate, often dragging their young, human brothers and sisters behind them. 
 
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Some canny canines protected themselves from the cold by huddling in their masters’ jumpers and jackets. Some entered in the handbags of their elderly owners. One or two were pushed through the gate in prams!
 
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A total of 770 dogs wearing bandanas were counted through the gate but when the official record period began, six had dragged their owners out of the fenced-off area for new adventures. So when the five-minute clock finished ticking, the new world record stood exactly 400 above its previous level, with 764 dogs wearing bandanas!