The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland will hold its 10th annual -Paws in the Park dog walk, Sunday at 10 a.m. at Deering Oaks Park in Portland.
Paws in the Park is one of the shelter’s most important annual fundraisers. From its facilities in Westbrook, the Animal Refuge League provides shelter services for a dozen greater Portland area towns, including Buxton, where staff members and volunteers have been working with state and other animal welfare teams to operate an improvised shelter for more than 200 dogs recently seized by the state.
“Paws in the Park is a lot of fun for people, and a lot of fun for their dogs,” said Andrew Ferreira, shelter executive director. “Given the extra demands on our staff and budget as a result of the situation in Buxton, this is an especially important year to support the league.”
The event features an array of activities, including an organized dog walk. Other activities include competitions for -waggiest tail, -best trick and -best bark.’ The event will also feature gift basket and other raffles as well as demonstrations by the Portland Police K-9 Unit, Whole Dog Camp doing canine musical freestyle, demonstrations by the Eastern Maine Agility Club and the American Red Cross disaster relief team.
Registration for Paws in the Park costs $20 and can be arranged by calling 854-9771 x 114. Participants may also accept pledges from friends and co-workers. Every participant will receive a gift bag and T-shirt. All dogs must be leashed,
Nearly 50 area companies have sponsored the event. “Top Dog” sponsors for the event include Evergreen Partners, Harbor Consulting IP Services, PDQ Express and Planet Dog. Gold sponsors include Fenestra Inc., Marc Gup Realtors (Keller Williams) and The Leash We Can Do. A complete list of sponsors and additional information can be found at the league’s Web site, www.arlgp.org.
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