Dog walk a key fundraiser for shelter

Pet owner or not, all animal lovers are invited to the Brandon Humane Society’s flagship fundraising event on Sunday.

The Wag-A-Tail Walk-A-Thon at Kin Park runs from 10 a.m. to noon and features a 40-minute walk, a barbecue, prizes, photos and autographs with Brandon Wheat Kings players, and a lot of dogs.

Shelter manager Tracy Munn said she’ll be bringing 12 adoptable dogs to the walk and hopes that other people will bring their dog, too.

“This is a really good fundraiser for us, and it’s a fundraiser that gets everybody involved,” Munn said in an interview from her car on Wednesday, parked outside the vet clinic to drop off urine samples from a dog at the rescue.

Despite being called a Walk-A-Thon, Munn says participants don’t have to join the walk and encourages attendees to just “come hang out.”

“It’s a great way for people in the community to come out and support us and have fun,” Munn said. “It’s really a fun day.”

After the event drew one of its largest crowds last year, Munn says she hopes to raise more than $42,000 this year to help cover the cost of housing more animals.

The Brandon Humane Society is a no-kill shelter and never freezes intake — despite being heavily pinched for space and resources.

“It’s so sad, so many people are re-homing pets … it’s just gotten crazy insane,” Munn said. “There’s just not enough space. We always try to do our best, but all the rescues and shelters are full. It’s never been quite like this.”

Munn estimates the shelter will have, on average, 80 to 100 animals in its care.

“And that’s why it costs so much money,” she said. “It costs a lot of money when you do rescue.”

Vet costs average $68,000 to $74,000 a year, “and it’ll be at least that this year,” Munn said.

Between food, water, and vet bills, Munn said it costs more than $150,000 to sustain the shelter and animals in care.

In addition to annual expenditures, the shelter is in the early talking stages of trying to get a new, larger, building.

Without funding from the province, Munn said these types of fundraising events are critically important to the shelter.

“We’re at the mercy of kind animal lovers,” she said.

Munn added that the best way people can help is by showing up to events such as the Walk-A-Thon.

“We’d just love people to come. It’s just so important to come,” she said.

“You don’t have to have a pet at all; you only have to care about animals. Just come and walk, make a little donation with your pledge sheet, and come and enjoy the morning.”

» rgerrard@brandonsun.com