Dogs from all around brought their owners to participate in two University Recreation Center events this weekend, the inaugural Wag n’ Walk and the fourth annual Dog Splash.
“We are just trying to promote T-Town PAWS and let people know about the shelter animals in the area,” said Stacey Vaughn, the Chair of the Wag n’ Walk committee. “[With the Wag n’ Walk] we were just trying to find a creative way for people to express themselves.”
The two events assisted in raising awareness and funds for the T-Town PAWS organization.
“I think it raises awareness of the need of adoption for dogs,” said Annie May, a UA graduate student and Tuscaloosa native. “You don’t necessarily have to have a pure bred puppy for you to have a loving companion.”
Participants found the addition of the walk along with the splash to be a great idea.
“My experience with [T-Town PAWS] has been very positive,” said Linda Olivet, past participant in Dog Splash and Tuscaloosa native. “The people that I know who have gotten dogs from T-Town [PAWS] have been very pleased. I think these are very genuine people who care about these dogs who don’t have homes. We’re dog lovers so we support what they do.”
The Wag n’ Walk consisted of a 5K race, which began and ended at the Rec Center. Participants either walked or ran with and without canines by their side. Awards were given to some of the dogs in male and female categories. Medals were awarded to individuals who won in specific age categories as well.
Blazer, Mattie and Sadie took 1st-3rd place prizes for the canine divisions.
Drew Stricklin came in first for the males finishing the race in less than twenty minutes. Stricklin participated with his wife Rachel and their dog Roman.
“We have a dog that we got from the shelter,” Stricklin said. “My wife wanted to run a 5K and this is her first one so I decided to do that with her. I think any race like this is good for community building. Hopefully, it’ll raise awareness for T-Town PAWS and save dogs.”
Amy Deeble, a freshman majoring in communicative disorders, came in first on the women’s side. Deeble is a native of Lousiana where her dogs still reside, but she chose to participate in the race nonetheless.
“I love running and I love dogs, even though I don’t have my dog here,” Deeble said. “I thought [the Wag n’ Walk] was obviously a great opportunity to give support to animals and T-Town PAWS. It combined two things that I’m passionate about and it was fun.”
Amy Moyer, a 2006 UA graduate and owner of Paisley, won third place in the women’s division. She is a frequent participant in 5K races and supports the T-Town PAWS mission.
“I think it’s great,” Moyer said. “We both love animals and don’t like to hear about them being put down. We need more stuff like it.”
Age categories ranged from nine and under to sixty-five and over. Sloan Donovan, who participated in the race with her mother Carol and dog Zeke, placed first in the nine and under category. Eight-year-old Donovan and her mom have been involved with the T-Town PAWS organization in the past.
“They’re our favorite charity,” said Tuscaloosa native Carol Donovan. “I think it’s a great way to make the community aware of what T-Town PAWS does and make it a real positive effort and also build in some healthy time for families with their pets.”
Sloan Donovan has plans of providing support and bringing about the awareness of what T-Town PAWS does later this month for her birthday.
“My birthday is on October 29th and we’re going to have a donation party,” she said. “We looked at [the Wag n’ Walk and Dog Splash] and thought it would be really fun.”
After the walk, the dogs made their way to the Outdoor Pool Complex at the Student Recreation Center for the Dog Splash.
There were many volunteers that assisted in making everything run swiftly, according to T-Town PAWS officers. There were Bama PAWS, Shelton State Community College Ambassadors, Boy Scouts and other community volunteers helping out.
Bama PAWS is a new organization that is the campus chapter of T-Town PAWS. According to Jarreau, Bama PAWS provides special volunteer opportunities for the students involved.
“I think it’s good because they’re raising money for shelters,” said Jan Morykwas, a freshman Bama PAWS member. “We’re trying to get dogs adopted at the shelters. I want to be a part of that.”
Vaughn said they were expecting about 75 participants, but ended up with 110 participants.
It is uncertain whether or not there will be a Wag n’ Walk next year, but the organization is hopeful.
“We don’t have a lot of places to entertain your dogs in Tuscaloosa; so it’s great to have an event where people can bring all their dogs together and support a great organization as well,” Vaughn said.
T-Town PAWS is an animal welfare organization dedicated to promoting animal welfare and eliminating animal overpopulation, suffering and needless deaths in the Tuscaloosa community. For more information or to get involved contact T-Towns PAWS at (205) 752-1931 or [email protected].
