Breaking News
Local News

Festival celebrates power of pets

By JILL SCHRAMM 4 min read

Mental health is a serious topic, but raising awareness can be fun.

Souris Valley Animal Shelter will hold its third annual Color Run/Walk/Roll and Lend-a-Paw Festival on Saturday, Aug. 8, to generate awareness of mental health and the role animals can play in therapy as well as to raise funds for shelter initiatives.

Haley Schoneck, communications and development director for SVAS, said a portion of funds raised from the event will go toward shelter maintenance to ensure adequate facilities for animals. However, SVAS also is directing funds toward a new program to address mental health needs of some shelter animals.

The shelter has taken in animals who have gone through horrible trauma and are so scared they can't be approached, Schoneck said.

"Those dogs need extra help, and those dogs need training," she said.

An example of the benefits of training is Bellatrix, a dog who had been with the shelter for more than a year and would bite and snarl at anyone who tried to come close to her, she said. Assigned to partner agency, Aloha Pet Services, at the end of last year, she is now potentially going into a foster-to-adopt home.

Seeing Bellatrix's transformation prompted the interest in fundraising to train more animals that have adoptability issues resulting in long shelter stays. Currently, SVAS has 10 animals that have been in the shelter for longer than six months and at least two for more than a year, Schoneck said.

Long-term stays tie up resources for the shelter and are not good for the animals, Schoneck said.

Fundraising in connection with the Aug. 8 event began in May with the Raise-a-Paw challenge. The challenge is a peer-to-peer online campaign to raise money on behalf of the shelter. The dog whose owner raises the most funds wins a free photo shoot and becomes the spokesdog in promoting the next year's event. The owner and dog will be recognized at the in-person event on Aug. 8.

The event begins with registration/check-in at 9 a.m. in Oak Park for participants in the Color Run/Walk/Roll. People are encouraged to preregister to facilitate the check-in process and ensure getting a T-shirt in their sizes. Preregistration information is available on the SVAS website or the social media page for the event.

The run, walk and roll begins at 10:30 a.m. and includes options for one mile or 5 kilometers. Along the route, participants will be showered with six colors, each representing different supports for mental health.

The event offers an opportunity for participants to reset and think about how they are taking care of their own mental and physical health, Schoneck said.

"It's meant to be a very mindful and self-check-in event," she said.

There is an admission fee for participants in the color event, but thanks to a Making Impossible Possible sponsorship, SVAS is giving free admissions and admission kits to 10 participants.

An awards program will follow the event. Those who dress up will be in the running for gift card prizes of $75-$200. There will be Best Dressed awards for first through third place in run, walk and roll categories as well as a Most Covered in Color Award. Pets will have their own categories for Best Dressed and Most Covered in Color awards, too.

In conjunction with the color event, the Lend-a-Paw festival runs from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and includes a variety of events, including bouncy houses and food vendors. A DJ will be providing music and Disney princess Moana will provide face painting and balloon animals. Dogs can get creative with a paw-casso canvas art activity using paint and their paws.

An "Our Therapists Have Paws" banner will be available for people to sign and to list their pets or service animals, writing a note about what their animals have done for them, Schoneck said.

The Minot Police Department also will have a presence with therapy K9 Freya and will share life-saving stories.

Starting at /week.