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Strut Your Mutt success

Aimee Stoddard

Salt Lake City

Sandwiched between days that gave new meaning to the "raining cats and dogs" cliche, the May weather was splendid for the 16th annual Strut Your Mutt at Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan, Utah.

An impressive 2,000 animal lovers and 1,000 dogs participated in Strut Your Mutt in Utah this year, raising nearly $160,000 to help homeless animals in the state. The money raised will go to No More Homeless Pets in Utah, a program of Best Friends, and participating local animal rescue groups.

Many rescue organizations took part in Strut Your Mutt as part of the Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Coalition (formerly Network Charities). The groups raised critical funds to support animals in their care, including adoption and spay/ neuter programs and other lifesaving initiatives. Second Chance for Homeless Pets, for example, raised money to purchase the rescue facility the group is currently leasing. Rhonda Hughes, executive director for the organization, says adoptions have quadrupled since they got a facility.

Many groups also used Strut Your Mutt to spotlight some of their fabulously adoptable dogs. For instance, the irresistible Ursula, rescued by the Community Animal Welfare Society, sported an "Adopt Me" handkerchief around her neck and pulled a red wagon. RoxAnn Ball, a dog trainer who is fostering Ursula, an approximately four-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier mix, explained that this energetic and agile girl likes to work. RoxAnn has been teaching Ursula ways to channel her energy into various productive tasks, including how to retrieve a beverage from the fridge.

Utah Friends of Basset Hounds, another No More Homeless Pets Coalition group, came in top dog in fundraising. They received the most donations to support their cause, an achievement that earned them the coveted Golden Bone Award.

Kris L. Smith, community outreach director for the Humane Society of Utah, comments, "The best thing about this year's Strut was that Best Friends allowed rescue/ shelter groups, such as ours, to participate and raise our own money. That was such a big deal! It just solidifies that we are all working toward the same goal and that there should be no such thing as competition. Although the money we raised was amazing, the exposure was just as important."

Lester, a two-year-old Labrador mix, is a special pooch who is directly benefiting from Strut Your Mutt this year. In December 2010, Wag-N-Train, a Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Coalition group, rescued him from the city pound in Ephraim, Utah. After being in his foster home for a few weeks, Lester's health challenges surfaced. He began reverse sneezing and bleeding from his nose.

Upon examining Lester, the vet discovered he had an infected back tooth. The vet removed the tooth and fragments lodged in his nasal cavity, but a follow-up X-ray revealed that there are still pieces of the tooth that need to be removed. Lester needs an endoscopic procedure to locate them and then additional surgery to extract them.

And as if that weren't enough, in the middle of his tooth-infection ordeal, Lester ingested a whole bottle of doggie aspirin at his foster family's home. Thankfully, Lester has made a full recovery. However, needless to say, this doggie's medical expenses have added up! Wag-N-Train used the Strut Your Mutt event to raise nearly $400 to help cover Lester's past and upcoming vet bills.

"I am so happy about how this year's Strut turned out," comments Danielle Slaughter, fundraising and event specialist for No More Homeless Pets in Utah. "Everything was fantastic. While standing at the start line, watching Gregory Castle [CEO of Best Friends] kick off the walk, I couldn't help but tear up. Seeing thousands of happy dogs with their people joining together for such an important cause, it definitely made all of the hard work and long hours spent putting together the event worth it!"