Historical November–December 2011 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
In times of economic crisis, we often hear reports of food banks and other nonprofit organizations suffering shortages in donations. Many local animal rescue organizations face similar problems.
There are an increasing number of pets being turned over by the owner who can no longer afford their pet and decreasing donations of supplies and cash.
However, one local business recently teamed up with a rescue organization to help raise money and awareness. Kingsbury Animal Hospital hosted its first KAH 5K Dog Walk & Fun Run on Oct. 8 to benefit the St. Louis Senior Dog Project. Terri Montgomery of Affton volunteers as a foster home with the St. Louis Senior Dog Project.
She was originally introduced to the organization through a rescue of her own. “They helped me out in 2007 placing a dog that had been abused,” Montgomery said.
She came to the fun run with Sadie, a very active border collie who is looking for a forever home. And while she was not adopted at the event, Montgomery expressed gratitude just for the exposure. “This is such a great way to get people educated.
A lot of people didn’t know about the in home fostering aspect,” Montgomery said. “It’s wonderful to live a responsible life with a pet.” The success was echoed by Abbey Spencer of Dogtown, who is a KAH receptionist and helped organize the event. “Overall I think it went amazingly well,” Spencer said. “The turnout was bigger than we thought it would be and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback.” The event drew a good crowd; about 200 people participated in the run.
Some people came because of their love for dogs but some came out to train and get in shape. Mackenzie Hopping of Overland saw a flier at a water fountain in Forest Park when she was out jogging. She’s training for the St. Louis Rock –n- Roll Half Marathon. “I had a choice between this race and the one tomorrow,” Hopping said. “Bringing my dog was one exciting part of this race.
I don’t get to run with Basie in other races.” And while getting in shape was not the primary goal of the race, it was a concept that some at Kingsbury Animal Hospital were hoping for in people and their pets. Cheryl Fields of St. Louis Hills, lead technician at KAH who co-founded the idea said that they also wanted to emphasize exercising with your dog. “Pet owners have a hard time seeing the weight gain in their own pets,” Fields said. “And three pounds extra on a dog is similar to 30 pounds extra on a human. Just like humans, pets need their exercise to maintain a healthy weight.” Walking three miles (five kilometers) several times a week helps the pet and the human maintain a healthy weight and in turn reduces the chances of diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and high blood pressure—all illnesses that dogs can suffer from also. KAH is hoping to sponsor the event again next year, building on this year’s success and experience. “It’s been daunting, so many things to take into consideration,” Fields said. “We learned from our mistakes and now we have a general outline of what needs to be done for next year,” Spencer said.
If you are interested in donating to the St. Louis Senior Dog Project, you can drop off donations at Kingsbury Animal Hospital or visit them at www.stlseniordogproject. org.
Original photograph caption
Participants in Kingsbury Animal Hospital Fun Run. Descriptive caption supplied.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2011.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2011_11.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
