Furry Tails: Pittsburgh Pup Crawl
Big ones. Small ones. Black, brown, white, tan, gray, spotted. Loud ones. Quiet ones. Friendly, shy, gentle, bouncy. Shaggy ones. Dressed up. Dressed down. And everything in between.
That's how I would describe the array of pooches at this year's Pittsburgh Pup Crawl on the North Shore just outside of PNC Park at the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
The Pup Crawl is an annual event that unites all three Pittsburgh animal shelters, the Western Pa. Humane Society, Animal Friends and the Animal Rescue League.
Click here to see more photos from the Pittsburgh Pup Crawl!
It's all about a sense of community, as they bring together local pet owners and their dogs, get the word out about other pet organizations, raise money, emphasize pet adoptions and have lots of fun!
"It's very important because it gets families out, it gets the community out. It's community support. Come down, look at adoptable dogs, see what shelters and other organizations for animals have to offer," Dave Janusek, the executive of the Western Pa. Humane Society, said. "There's a lot of great resources, whether it's dog walkers, whether it's play areas, products, and the most important thing, all three shelters are here trying to get animals adopted out from the shelters."
From adoptable dogs to pups already with forever homes, there was a big turnout from man's best friend at the festival.
There was the five or six ginormous white balls of fur representing the Great Pyrenees Club of Western Pennsylvania. Pit bulls at the Hello Bully tent. Then, there was the dark-brown Golden Retriever and the tiny, brown, long-haired pup wearing an adorable bow tie with the Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center (PVSEC).
Therapy dogs in all shapes and sizes, pooches enjoying a dip in kiddie pools on a warm summer evening, owners sneaking their dogs scraps from the food trucks.
The great big, spotted, gray Great Dane with a slobbery tongue was cute, but so was the sweet little, white bulldog who was wearing a pink pirate hat and the tiny black Dachshund wearing a Pirates' shirt.
Ha! There was also a brown and white Pit Bull with pink toenails! And a hound wearing one of the light up collars they were selling.
Seeing all these four-legged friends in one place was delightful.
The best part is, it gets out the word about the so many animals, not just dogs but cats, rabbits and others, that desperately need loving forever homes.
The shelters say they see an uptick in adoptions after the event.
"Not only an uptick in the adoptions, but also to see what the shelters have to offer whether it's clinic, whether it's training, whether it's adoption… a wide variety of things.," said Janusek. "We not only see adoptions increase, but we see the community coming out and supporting either monetarily or coming out dog walking, volunteering or using our services as well as the other two shelters."
Appropriately, the evening ended with A Nighttime Dog Walk across the Clemente Bridge. Fun for both the pups and their people!
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