Coming soon: Bark in the Park

Calling all dog lovers and race/walk competitors! Mark May 4 on your calendars and join us at Churchill County Fairgrounds for our annual Strut-Your-Mutt 5K Walk/Run and Bark in the Park, one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Come and be a part of a day filled with fun activities. The 5K will start at 9 a.m., and Bark in the Park will “run” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The 5K run/walk includes our two- and four-legged friends. To participate, please fill out the registration form available at the shelter and at Walmart on Saturday. You may also download and print the form from our website (www.capsnv.org) by clicking “2013 Bark in the Park” on the homepage and then “Registration form” following the section “5K Walk/Run.”

When filling out your registration form, be sure to mark all appropriate boxes, fill in your name and address and sign. Send it to CAPS (P.O. Box 5128, Fallon NV 89407), along with your race fee. You may also bring it to the shelter at 5894 Pasture Road during normal business hours (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.).

Registration fees for the 5K are $15 per person and $40 for four people (dogs walk FREE and must be leashed). We encourage you to find sponsors to “up” the competition and help raise more funds for the animals in our care. As a bonus, you walk/run for free if you are sponsored! Forms are available as noted above (on our website, but click “Sponsorship form”). If you cannot participate in the race but would like to get in on the fundraising competition, give us a call (423-7500). We will designate a racer for you.

We strongly encourage you to pre-register. This guarantees that you will receive the event T-shirt and a goodies bag full of donations from our sponsors and event vendors. If you plan to register on race day, we’ll be taking registrations from 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. sharp. After that time, you will NOT be allowed to register (no exceptions). Also, you might not receive a shirt and goodie bag if you sign up on race day.

After the 5K winners are announced, the “doors” open for the Bark in the Park, which is free (all dogs must be leashed for this event.) Here you will find vendors of all sorts, demonstrations, a doggie-washing station, a raffle and, yes, the doggie contests, which everybody loves. Water will be provided around the park should your buddy get thirsty.

Would you like your four-legged BFF to be in our 2014 Happy Endings calendar? Well, this is the place to have that photo taken. Kim Lamb, photographer extraordinaire, will be waiting for you and your buddy. The sitting fee is only $20, and you’ll receive a 5× 7-inch photo, which will be sent to you at a later date.

Would you like to be a vendor at the event? The fee is $25 or free if you are a nonprofit organization. Whether you are an artist, a local veterinarian, a dog groomer, a dog trainer, a food vendor of any kind, give us a call. A vendor application is also at our website.

Would you like to be a sponsor? We have a range of sponsorship opportunities starting at $100 and going up from there. Go to our website and click “2013 Bark in the Park” for more information.

All sponsors get a free space at the event in addition to the other perks listed for each level.

More information about this event will be posted in this column in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check it out.

Please come see us tomorrow at Walmart where we will be selling our goodies (calendars, short- and long-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, caps and tote bags), Flower Tree’s raffle tickets (see below) and homemade baked treats. Ki the Kissing Pooch, our most dedicated four-legged volunteer, will be waiting for you at his Kissin’ Booth.

As a final note, be sure to stop by Flower Tree Nursery to bu raffle tickets ($1 each or six for $5) for “Prairiefire,” a vibrant-pink crabapple tree valued at $79.99! All proceeds from this raffle benefit CAPS. Tickets can also be purchased at the shelter (when open) and Bark in the Park. The drawing will be held on June 1 at Flower Tree, and you don’t have to be present to win.

This week’s article was contributed by Betty Duncan, a member of the CAPS board of directors.