Hundreds of dogs and their human handlers paraded down DoG Street Saturday morning in the first annual DoG Street Strut.
The Strut was a fundraising event organized and run by Heritage Humane Society. The fundraiser followed in the paw-steps of the Dogs of DoG Street parades that took place in 2015 and 2016, before being canceled last year.
More than 400 canines and their caretakers walked along the length of Duke of Gloucester Street, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at a “Vendor’s Village” composed of Strut sponsors’ tents in Merchants Square. The two mile parade took attendees down to the Colonial Capitol and back.
Heritage Humane Executive Director Kimberly Laska said she was thrilled with the turnout.
“It well exceeded the 400 mark that was our pie in the sky, ‘wouldn’t it be great if’ number,” Laska said. “There was so much additional awareness of what we’re doing every day, and that was huge for us.”
Laska added that more than $20,000 was raised toward Heritage’s efforts.
Heritage serves stray, surrendered and abused animals in the community and helps pair them with loving homes. Admission was $30, which went towards funding Heritage’s efforts.
As dogs introduced themselves to one another with a bark or a sniff, their owners mingled over their shared love of man’s best friend.
After the parade, the pets, and even their humans competed in contests such as best trick, best singing voice, and the best look-alike for human-dog pairs.
Participants received a goody bag from the event’s sponsors, a tee-shirt, and a bandana for their dog to wear.
See photos of the DoG Street Strut in the gallery above.
