BARKS FOR PARKS

Barks for Parks is a free event that will be held on Saturday, May 9th at Bowie Nature Park from 9am-2pm. Barks for Parks has been an annual event at Bowie for about 10 years, but really has started to grow in the last 1 or 2 years. This year Fairview Parks Department is partnering with two local pet rescues: Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. The goal of the event is to help raise awareness and funds for these groups, and also to get people out in the Park for a fun day with man’s best friend. The 2015 Barks for Parks will include, pet-related vendors that will be giving away lots of great dog swag and treats all day, a One Mile Guided Group Hike, K-9 demonstrations, mini-workshops throughout the day, Man’s Best Friend Contests, door prize giveaways midway through the event, an opportunity to microchip your pets, grand prize drawing donated by HomeTown Pet at the end of the event and more! Registration for the One Mile Guided Group Hike with Your Dog starts at 9:00am at the registration booth and the walk will start at 10:00am. This year participants in the walk are asked to donate $5/dog. All the money collected from the walk will be given to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue to help these groups with the never ending job of rescuing dogs in need. Along with the donations collected from the walk, entry fees for the Man’s Best Friend Contests will go to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue as well. The Man’s Best Friend Contests will begin at 11:00am at the stage. This year there will be 3 contests (Cutest Dog, Look-a-Like, and Best Trick) sponsored by HomeTown Pet. Entry fee is $5/dog. HomeTown Pet has provided fantastic prizes for the winners. Prizes include a Dog Toy and $20 HTP gift card for 3rd place, a Dog Leash and $30 HTP gift card for 2nd place, and a Dog Bed and $50 HTP gift card for 1st place. To enter your dog in one or more of these contests visit the registration booth before 10:45am the day of the event. There is a limit of 20 participants for each of the contests so register early. “The Parks Department is so happy to be partnering with Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue”, states Jenny Herrera, Program Director of Bowie Nature Park. “We hope to have a huge showing for the walk and the contests on May 9th to help raise money for these great rescues that are making a difference for so many needy animals.” Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary (OFSDS), while providing a lifetime home for senior dogs, strives to raise awareness of the joys and challenges of living with aging dogs. While never forgetting where these dogs have come from, they emphasize the positive aspects of their life in retirement. OFSDS is a Forever Foster home based sanctuary currently housing 45 senior dogs at the sanctuary with over 75 more in forever foster homes. They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit that relies solely on volunteers. Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue is comprised of volunteers and fosters who are deeply passionate about saving the lives of pets that have been abused, abandoned, surrendered or scheduled to be euthanized in over-crowded shelters. Through the use of kind, selfless fosters, they provide temporary homes while tirelessly seeking loving, caring forever homes for each of the “rescue babies.” They provide extraordinary medical care, which is often life-saving. It is a NO KILL, all volunteer, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.