Several hundred animal lovers braved a chilly fall day on November 3rd at the Harford County Equestrian Center for our 5th annual Walk & Wag-a-Thon and Pet Fair. We are proud to announce that the event raised $14,000 to supplement costs for medical supplies, vaccines, medication, testing and medical procedures for the animals of the Humane Society of Harford County! Medical expenses are increasing drastically and we need the continued support to keep our animals healthy.

Our top individual fundraiser was Ms. Brenda Yarrison, and our top team fundraiser was Jacksonville Veterinary Hospital. They were followed closely by the team from Harford Tech’s Animal Science Program. We wish to thank everyone who raised money and help to make a difference in the lives of our animals!

The Walk & Wag-a-Thon was generously sponsored by Animal Emergency Hospital of Bel Air. Other event sponsors were:

• APG Federal Credit Union
• Churchville, Greenbrier & Swan Creek Veterinary Clinics
• Comprehensive Nursing Services
• Festival Veterinary Clinic
• Freedom Federal Credit Union
• Harford County Government
• Harford Emergency & Referral Veterinary Services
• Harford Mutual Insurance Company
• Hickory Veterinary Hospital
• Slavie Savings Bank

New this year was the Furry Friends 5K, a fun run sponsored by the *Renaissance Allsports Athletic Club (RASAC). Thirty-four runners took off from the Equestrian Center, ran over to Annie’s Playground and came back to the Equestrian Center. Runners raised over $1,500! The top 3 male runners were Zach Zander with a time of 19:15; Saul Duarte with 19:42; and Robert Bartholomew at 20:20. The top 3 females were Anna Wasielewski at 21:36; Chi ChinWu with a time of 24:57; and Leah Streb at 25:17. We wish to thank volunteer Race Director Veronique Hauschild for organizing such a wonderful race!
*RASAC is a not-for-profit Harford County organization with goals to promote amateur sports competition and physical fitness. RASAC is the oldest running club in Maryland and has been supporting running since 1966. The group maintains a website at www.rasac.com.

Throughout the day we offered a variety of contests to participate in with your dog. The costume contest was a big hit and included many adorable entries. It was hard for our judges to decide, but the winner was a pug named Rose (and mom Lisa) who was an adorable “New England Lobsta”.

The best trick was given by Magoo (owned by Dave) who retrieved bits of trash from the ground and threw them in the trash can. We applaud this environmentally-responsible dog!

Sasha was the dog who won the Best Kisser contest, delivering lots of slobbery kisses to her mom, Jen.

The last contest of the day was our popular Musical Tails game. The last dog to Sit when the music stops is out and the game continues until we have a winner. This year the contest belonged to Jack and his mom Brianna.

There were tons of things to do and see inside the Vendor Pavilion. Dr. Amy Hubbard from Jarrettsville Veterinary Clinic administered rabies vaccines for $10 per shot while Aja Brown from Mutt Magic Training Services was offering Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Testing for $10. The Humane Society held an adopt-a-thon and brought several dogs who were hoping to find great homes. Over 30 vendors offered a variety of products and services for sale and included:

• Animal Emergency Hospital
• Anything In Oil, Inc.
• APG Federal Credit Union
• Arts d’ Tryon
• Baltimore Bully Crew
• Bandanas & Dog Coats by Carol Kirsch
• Barks & Blooms
• Call the Shots Photography
• Canine Couture
• Capital Remodeling & Bath Guys
• Churchville Veterinary Clinic
• Comprehensive Nursing Services
• Cookie Lee Independent Consultant
• Divine K-9
• Dog Coats & Bandanas by Karen Pritchett
• Festival Veterinary Clinic
• Freedom Federal Credit Union
• Girl Scout Troop #2815
• Hand Made by Irene
• Harford County Government
• Harford County Health Department
• Harford County Public Library
• Harford Emergency Referral & Veterinary Services
• Harford Mutual Insurance Company
• Harford Tech Animal Science Program
• Hickory Veterinary Hospital
• Highview Memorial Gardens
• Homeward Bound Mobile Veterinary Clinic
• Interstate Canine Swim Center
• Little Crystal Bijoux Jewelers
• Pet Valu
• See Spot Run
• Slavie Federal Savings Bank
• Terrapin K9 Academy
• Walgreens
• WHFC 91.1 FM

A crowd assembled to kick off the walk at 11:15am. We wish to thank Senator Barry Glassman; Aaron Tomarchio, Harford County Government’s Chief of Staff; and Dr. Gretchen Ruby from Animal Emergency Hospital for taking time out of their busy schedules to help cut the ribbon that started the walk.

The Steel Horse Restaurant in Aberdeen catered the event and brought breakfast sandwiches and coffee; pit beef, turkey and ham; fries; and other goodies. Sunshine Designs of Forest Hill generously donated the screen printing for our event t-shirts which were given to folks who raised $100 or more. Leo Heppner and Terri Shepke from Heppner Imaging donated their professional photography services to capture the event. We also wish to thank WXCY 103.7FM for providing event advertising both on-air and on their website.

The Mid-Atlantic Disc Dogs were back again this year and put on quite a thrilling show. And Mark Soper gave us a fascinating sheep herding demonstration with his Border Collies.

We are so grateful to our volunteers who staffed registration, helped with the Furry Friends 5K, sold Humane Society merchandise, helped the contests run smoothly, parked cars, helped set up and break down, and so much more:

• Phil Anderson
• Jeff, Jeffrey & Taylor Aumiller
• Stacy Blades
• Lois Brooks
• John Drexler
• Jackie Eaton
• Rachel Hammerbacher
• Veronique Hauschild
• Katie Howard
• Brandy Kelley
• Arlene Klapproth
• Ashley Leavens
• Gary Leavens
• John Long
• Marilyn Miller
• Shelby Moon
• Judi Robilotta
• Ron & Pam Simper
• Cecilia Tyszkiewicz
• Dana Wenger
• Shelby Werneke
• And many more!

Thank you for your support, confidence and generosity. We hope you enjoyed a wonderful day at our Walk & Wag-a-Thon and Pet Fair and please remember to tell all of your friends, co-workers and family members that their new best friend is waiting for them at our shelter!

There are many more event photos on our Facebook page – all taken by Heppner Imaging.