By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
An annual fundraiser hosted by St. Joseph's Friends of the Animal Shelter will raise money to help further the building of a new animal shelter.
Friends of the Animal Shelters Melanie Barnes says the annual 5k Walk/Run for the Paws is one of their most popular fundraisers.
"Last year we had around 300, 325 participants, and so always looking to get more people out and about," Barnes tells host of the KFEQ Hotline Barry Birr. "It's a great way to get out support our local community, get active, it's around springtime, the weather is hit or miss."
Funds raised during the walk will go into the Wags to Wishes campaign.
Barnes says that money goes mostly towards the building of a new animal shelter
"We are still trying to fundraise to get our potential new facility renovated," Barnes says. "We've been coming a long way, it's been over many years, but this is our largest fundraiser it's usually dedicated towards that."
Barnes says leftover funds go towards medical expenses for pets at the shelter as well as adoption specials that Friends of the Animal Shelter holds.
"Throughout 2022 it seems like we were constantly running adoption specials, trying to promote the community to come down and adopt a pet," Barnes explains. "We really want to get as many adoptable pets out of the shelter and into their forever home."
The event will begin and end at the Bode Ice Center, with the walk kicking off at 9am on Saturday.
Barnes says attendees are free to walk or run the marathon, and they can also bring their dogs.
"So a lot of walkers come out, they're there and with their dogs, oh my gosh I see dogs in strollers, I see dogs in wagons, oh it's great," Barnes says.
Barnes says all they ask people is that their pets are up to date on vaccinations and are also well behaved
"By all means it's a great way to get your exercise in early in the day, get your dog out and get them socialized. and then go home for the day and enjoy the rest of the day," Barnes says. "So, it's really fun and as well as just if you don't want to run you don't have to."
Barnes says you don't even have to wear a time chip if you only wish to do the race for fun.
Registration for the event is open until Saturday and you can find out more information HERE.