A dog-gone good time! Paws in the Park Dog Walk & Fest was held on Sat. April 23, in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg, at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg. This year marked several important forward strides: a new partnership with the City of Gaithersburg, a larger venue to accommodate the event’s growing popularity, and (hooray!) exceeding our online fundraising goal of $25,000 to raise nearly $50,000!
More than 500 people and their canine friends gathered to help homeless animals, despite early afternoon rainfall. Attendees enjoyed the 60+ pet-friendly vendors, rescue groups with adoptable animals, music, games, giveaways, demos, and contests.
Popular attractions included the MADD (Mid-Atlantic Disc Dog) demos, doggie Easter Egg Hunt organized by the Girl Scouts, agility course run by the Kids n’Dogs 4H Club, bobbing for hot dogs sponsored by Sniffers Doggie Depot, and contests emceed by Kimberly Suiters from NBC4.
Special guests The Honorable Sidney Katz, Mayor of Gaithersburg, City Council members, and Maureen McLain, on-air host 97.1 WASH FM official radio sponsor, kicked off the 1-mile walk and awarded the top online fundraisers. Mayor Katz commented that the city was “very excited to be partnered with MCHS this year.”
Allison Belzer from Abby’s Paws won the top group prize of lunch for 20 from Whole Foods - Montgomery County Stores. Shannon Shea was the individual top fundraiser, who won a $500 gift certificate from Whole Pet Central (Shannon said she would donate most of it back to MCHS!) and a 4-night stay at the pet-friendly Hyatt Chesapeake Bay, compliments of sponsors Larry and Jolene Shapiro.
Plans for Paws in the Park 2012 (returning to Bohrer Park) are underway, and online registration and fundraising is scheduled to open this fall.
