Photo courtesy of Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter
Dearborn Exchange Club member Pat D’Ambrosio plays with Chevy, an adoptable dog at the Dearborn Animal Shelter, in preparation for the Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter’s eighth annual Mutt Strut Saturday.
DEARBORN — The Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter’s eighth annual Mutt Strut & Pet Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Ford Field Park.
The event — a pledge-driven dog walk and community wide animal celebration — is the largest gathering of pet enthusiasts in the area. Registration for the walk — which steps off at 11 a.m. — begins at 9 a.m. Participants can register for the walk online at www.DearbornAnimals.org.
Additional Mutt Strut highlights include a midway of vendors with services and products for pets and humans. There also will be a Doggie Fun Zone with activities for dogs, an adopted-pet Celebration Tent to honor adoption alumni, and former Detroit Tigers pitcher Milt Wilcox’s Ultimate Air Dogs in a dock diving competition.
Entertainment and free family fun events take place all day long. Food trucks also will be on hand serving a variety of street cuisine.
To support the Mutt Strut, the Exchange Club of Dearborn will conduct a street collection in west Dearborn. Donations will benefit adoptable animals in the care of the Dearborn Animal Shelter.
Adorned with Mutt Strut T-shirts, the canister collection team will be stationed at intersections along Michigan Avenue from Outer Drive to Oakwood Boulevard as well as in front of Westborn Market and Dearborn Farm Market.
“Our members and volunteers are excited about helping the animals,” Exchange Club spokesman Pat D’Ambrosio said. “There are people who will be driving down Michigan Avenue that day who might not otherwise know about Mutt Strut, and this could be a great way for them to help out.”
Exchange Club of Dearborn is the local chapter of the National Exchange Club, a 100-year-old service organization. Members participate in fundraising activities and outreach to support local youth and other non-profit organizations to improve lives for those in Dearborn and surrounding communities.
The Dearborn Animal Shelter is at 2661 Greenfield Road, and is operated by the FFDAS, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. For more information, call 313-943-2697, go to www.DearbornAnimals.org, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DearbornAnimals.