By: Alexis Mitchell
Twitter: @alexismitch14
Email: mitchella2@findlay.edu
The rain showers this past Saturday, Sept. 8 did not stop from all the adorable dogs of Findlay and their owners attending Dogpawlooza.
Dogpawlooza is an all-day event held at Riverbend Park and has been extremely popular for the last 10 years. Paula Krugh, the Executive Director of the Hancock County Humane Society, has helped at every Dogpawlooza since she began working at the Humane Society. According to Krugh Dogpawlooza started out as just a dog walk event and has grown tremendously throughout the years.
“It was a huge hit,” said Krugh. “There were so many wonderful people and dogs.”
In previous years, Dogpawlooza has hit numbers as high as 600 owners and their four-legged family members. This year the attendance was not as high because of the rain, but all that did attend had many fun things to do with their dogs. Just a couple of those festivities included a vet clinic clipping nails, K-9 Unit dogs attending, food vendors, a new lure course, and even the dogs were given paw readings. The paw readings were humorous, telling the dogs that they were a “fashionista”, or predicting their future like they will have a very relaxing afternoon on the couch.
Not only was Dogpawlooza a fun event for local dogs to bond with other dogs and their owners, but it helped raised money for the Hancock County Humane Society as well. Even though the event was completely free for all that attended, there were other components of the day that helped raised money. There was a 50/50 drawing and there were many sponsors that supported the Humane Society. Krugh also said that the University of Findlay has had a significant role in Dogpawlooza by being a part of the support system.
“So many people work together to put these events on,” said Krugh.
Above all else, Dogpawlooza’s main goal is to help gravitate community members to visit the Humane Society. So many dog’s and other animals are still in need of their forever homes. Krugh could not stress enough the need for volunteers at the Humane Society and just how many opportunities there are to help these animals.
“Please come visit the shelter, there are many volunteer efforts,” said Krugh.
To contact the Humane Society, donate, find your new family member, or volunteer visit their website at https://www.hancockhumanesociety.com/