Bark in the park! Dogs free to attend Wellington game

Every man and his dog will be at Westpac Stadium this weekend.

The Wellington Lions have teamed up with the SPCA to attract a more diverse - hairy - crowd to Sunday's game against Canterbury.

For the first time ever, dogs will be allowed in Westpac Stadium.

Collectors will be accepting donations for the SPCA on the day - which is being labelled 'Bark in the Park'.

There'll be a specific section for pet owners and animal services staff will be monitoring behaviour.

Lions captain Brad Shields, a dog owner himself, said the team were happy to help.

"A lot of the guys own dogs or have had dogs in their families so it's easy to relate to the SPCA's cause. It's usually the captain or the referee barking the orders on game day, but I guess they won't be the only ones on Sunday."