Mutts Strut Their Stuff at Mill Pond Park

Over 100 dogs walked, wagged and wiggled their way through a plethora of activity Saturday at the Saline K-9 Crusaders 3rd Annual Strut’n Your Mutt Dog Walk for charity. Estimates put the profit mark at over $6,000, all of which will be donated to the Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue.

Jim Peters is the President of the Saline K-9 Crusaders. 

“This year we featured more interactive events that dogs and owners could do together and it was very well received,” Peters said.

Dogs and their owners lined up for activities like dog painting, smooch a pooch, bobbing for hot dogs, a straw maze, cookie walk, agility, ball retrieval and more. Donations were taken at each booth to participate, which added to the bottom line for the event. Live music was also performed by Sole Survivor, a guitar playing vocalist who kept the atmosphere festive.

In addition to the fun and frolic were vendor booths that offered services and consultations. They varied from puppy sitters to doggy dentists. 

Dr. Rebecca Coll and her team from Whittaker Road Animal Clinic were on site to talk about the importance of dental health for dogs.

Dr. Coll did a consultation on Polly, a black lab mix. 

“It looks like Polly has a broken tooth,” Coll said. 

Solution options were then explained in detail to Polly’s owner Sarah Duncan. 

Skin care and doggy boutiques were available for pet owners. Marni Vilardi, owner of Sweet Cheeks skin care, and Rhonda Stephens, who owns Bodysin-sations, shared a tent. A popular item for sale was a white, bone-shaped bar of soap made from lavender and goats milk.

“Goats milk is really good for dogs skin, for sensitive and dry skin too,” said Vilardi. 

They also sold hand sewn items like doggy bandanas and jewelry.

Other vendors like Barbara Watson and her Premier Designs jewelry were present to offer a percentage of profit from every sale they made at the event. 

Watson is no stranger to Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue. 

“I volunteer with their pet adoption on Sundays too,” she said.

The largest booth by far was that of the Greater Hillsdale Humane Society who had more than 20 dogs and cats available Saturday at the park for adoption. The Hillsdale rescue is a “no kill” facility, which means animals are never euthanized. If the shelter is full, no new animals will be added until there is room for them. Sheba, a black lab mix, was at the shelter for six years before being adopted to her forever home by owner Orsi Dezsi of Ann Arbor. 

“I adopted her on Memorial Day Weekend and she’s just wonderful,” Dezsi said.

“We’ve had one kitty adopted so far today, but lots of people have taken information,” said Renee Goshorn, the manager of the Hillsdale shelter. “All of the animals have their names and information on their cages. I think only one ate their paper!” 

Many families brought puppies to the event, as a good way to begin to socialize them.

Todd and Stacey Rumpsa from Saline, along with their two young children Case and Ella, brought Pepper. Pepper is a Brittany Spaniel, white with liver speckles, who was curious to see and sniff everything. Ella led her on the leash.

“The kids just love her,” Stacey Rumpsa said. “She is like a friend to them.”

With so many dogs in one place, one might think “friendly” might not be a way to describe them. Turns out, it was the perfect way to describe them.

“The dogs are always awesome at these events,” Peters said. “This isn’t anyone’s backyard, there is no territory to defend.” 

Every breed you can think of was present, some so tiny they could fit in a purse, others seemed large enough to ride like a pony.  Jacob and Annabelle were two colossal canines, both Rotweilers, and gentle giants who really enjoyed the Bobbin’ for Hot Dogs booth. Most dogs had some kind of apparel around their necks.  There were lots of bandanas, cute little dresses, and even team spirit. Jacob and Kat Henriksen didn’t leave the costumes to the dogs. They and their two large dogs Penelope and Jayden, were decked out in Red Wing hockey and Detroit Tigers baseball jerseys. 

“This is our second year here,” said Kat Henriksen. Toward the end of the event, they were already planning costumes for next year.

It is dedication from families and organizers alike that make this kind of event such a huge success. 

“It takes a community to make these events work,” Peters said. “The City of Saline put off some park construction until after our event to accommodate the fundraiser.” 

Peters also commented about all of the volunteers and hours put in every year, one donor in particular. 

“Some people like Bob Adams, a Saline Citizen, raised $700 on his own for this event and is our largest contributor every year,” Peters said. 

All in all there were 35 business sponsors, 16 vendors, 2 veterinarians, 2 trainers, 4 rescue organizations, 19 volunteers and the Kiwanis food wagon on site.

Peters gives much of the credit to Kathy and John Bauman, and his wife Geraldine.
“They are the backbone of this event,” he said. “There are so many people that help, you hate to start naming them for fear of forgetting one.”

The Saline K9 Crusaders is completely a volunteer run organization, even their website is managed by a volunteer, Wendy Noccoli. People are encouraged to visit the site for more information, donations, or how to become involved in the K9 Crusaders.

For information on the Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue, as well as their upcoming events, visit their website here.