KANAB – Animal welfare organizations from across the southwestern United States will come together to save lives through Strut Your Mutt, a fundraising event hosted by the Best Friends Animal Society. Strut Your Mutt will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab and includes a mile-long walk and family-friendly festival.
Organizations participating in this year’s event include Because Animals Matter, the Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry, Healing HEART Sanctuary, the Iron County Animal Shelter and the Little Friends Foundation.
The festival following the short walk, in which pets are encouraged to participate along with their owners, will include a variety of fun-filled activities for families and pets in a casual atmosphere.
While this is the first year Strut Your Mutt will be held in Kanab, the fundraising goal is set high at $35,000. Best Friends hopes to help raise $2 million nationwide for 240 local animal shelters and rescue groups through nearly a dozen similar events over 2013. Strut Your Mutt will be held at the following cities in the coming month:
- Sept. 7 – Jacksonville, Miss.
- Sept. 15 – Los Angeles, Calif.
- Sept. 21 —Baltimore, Md., Houston, Texas, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Calif.
- Sept. 28 — Austin, Texas, Portland, Ore., St. Louis, Mo.
Money raised through Strut Your Mutt will be used to fund adoptions, spay/neuter services and other lifesaving programs, ultimately reducing the number of pets entering shelters across the country. Last year, $1.3 million was raised for some 180 groups, many of which were solely supported by proceeds from Strut Your Mutt.
“For close to 30 years, Best Friends Animal Society has been working to reduce the number of deaths and put an end to the killing of shelter animals,” said Gregory Castle, Best Friends’ chief executive officer. “Strut Your Mutt is a celebratory way for the shelters and groups to come together and invite the public to join them and Best Friends in the fight to save lives.”
Strut Your Mutt’s national sponsors include BarkBox, MINI USA, Natural Balance, the Petco Foundation and Petfinder.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. An authority and leader in the no-kill movement since its founding in 1984, Best Friends runs the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, as well as lifesaving programs in partnership with rescue groups and shelters across the country. Since its founding, Best Friends has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from 17 million per year to 4 million. No other animal welfare organization has the knowledge, technical expertise and on-the-ground network to end the killing and “Save Them All.” For more information, visit the Best Friends website.
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