The School of Music on Saturday hosted “Bark to the Beat,” a fundraiser 5K run and donation drive for the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter.
The goal was to get 500 people to sign up and reach the goal of $10,000, and the organizers surpassed both goals, reaching an attendance of 572 people and over $10,000 in total donations.
The event was held on Butler Field, and those participating could run or walk the route around Moody Hall at their own pace.
Tables at the entrance allowed the community to donate bags of food and grab T-shirts, and — for the kids in attendance — get their faces painted.
“It’s been great; it’s been unbelievable what they done, raising this amount of money,” attendee Jim Chesnutt said. “It’s just been unbelievable.”
Chesnutt brought Libby, a Great Pyrenees mixed-breed dog, who was a highlight of the event for many participants.
Chesnutt’s goal is to raise awareness about the animal shelter and everything it has to offer. Chesnutt and Libby alerted runners to a bus in the parking lot that carried a dozen dogs ready to be adopted.
The dogs up for adoption varied in age, ranging from puppies to elders, each with a name tag and a summary of their behavior. The bus was crowded until it left.
“It’s been great. It’s been giving us publicity,” said Abby Moore, the behavior manager at the animal shelter. “We had a lot of people coming by to look at the adoptable dogs and learn about our programs. We always appreciate donations, whether it’s supplies, monetary, anything, every little bit helps us. We would definitely like to come back.”
Kevin Woosley, a music professor at The University of Alabama, directed the event and had been encouraging students to attend since February.
“We have some things that we need to tweak for next time, but very few disaster moments,” Woosley said. “The sun came out and it turned out just right.”
