Despite the rain, local businesses still set up their tents to sell merchandise, while everyone enjoys free food and door prizes.
Humane Society 5K 2016
Week of 5/3/16
On Saturday, April 29th, businesses and individuals across the city of Bowling Green came together to support homeless animals at the BGWC Humane Society’s annual fundraising 5K. This fun and friendly event, held on the Bowling Green airport lawn, featured a 5K walk, free food, and lots of dog-related merchandise.
The event kicked off at 9:00 in the morning with registration, where participants received a free 5K t-shirt. Shortly after, dogs were brought from the shelter via truck and matched with their human handlers. Once everyone was all ready, the walk could begin at 10:00 a.m.
Unfortunately, the rain did not hold off as the event organizers had hoped, but the walk went on as planned. For about 10 minutes, dogs and humans alike walked in the heavy rain until the weather began to clear up. The entire course took about 30-45 minutes to walk, and stretched from the airport, down Wilkinson Trace, and back to the airport again.
After the walk, door prizes were given out in a raffle, top contributors were recognized, and everyone could relax on the grass with their canine companions. King of the Grill and RC Cola provided free hotdogs, pizza, chips, drinks and more for the participants, and there were booths set up by Dog’s Day Out, Corner Bakery Cafe, the BG Hot Rods, and the Humane Society, where people could browse merchandise and pick up information. Many other businesses donated time, money, and gift certificates in order to make this day as fun as possible, including Montana Grill, Rafferty’s, Red Door Puzzle Room, Candy’s Campers, and more.
Despite the less than ideal weather, the event was still a success. My dad and I walked a shelter dog named Forest (who I featured in an earlier Pet of the Week), and though he got pretty soaked, he had a great time. So many people signed up to walk shelter dogs at the 5K that the shelter actually ran out of dogs for people to walk, which was a clear mark of success. In addition, the event provided potential owners with an opportunity to check out adoptable dogs, and so several dogs were adopted shortly after it took place.
