Hello! I am taking time out of my day full of cleaning and planning for a weekend away to do this post, so it's not terribly long ago when I talk about it.
As you know, The Tim, Katie, and I participated in the Mutt Strut this year, which is a fundraiser for PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), the organization where I volunteer. I've gone with both Dug and Hamlet, but this is the first time The Tim joined us.
It was a nice day - a bit overcast, but cool and bright. It's held at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which used to be a major construction location for the United States Navy. The place is HUGE, I mean it's own little town within a city. Since it closed down, they have done a lot to keep it going and it's a pretty successful endeavor. There are businesses in some of the old buldings and houses, some medical offices, and recently they built a high rise of condos on the northern edge. The buildings are also a mix of classic, industrial, and old houses (where the officers lived), so it's already a mishmash of styles. There are also a couple of shipbuilding companies headquartered there now, which I think is nice because it keeps that part of the site going.
Lest you wonder, I did wear my Angypang Socks for the first time, so that Angus could be with us at the Mutt Strut, especially since he was the one I had originally planned would be with me, and I had been SO excited looking forward to all of it.
The route is about 1.5 miles, around part of the edge of the site, and there are plenty of things to remind you that it was once part of the Navy. But mostly it was beautiful to see the fall colors begin.
The crowd was really nice sized, and since once it begins, you kind of go at your own pace, there are no huge bunches of people and dogs in the way.
Part of it is a long the Delaware River - that's New Jersey across the water.
They have their own firehouse, which is an entire block long!
Then we headed back to the tents for food, drink, and activities. Katie thought the highlight was the ball pit ... until she learned that you couldn't take all the balls home with you!
For reasons I don't actually know, I took very few photos of dogs and/or their people in costume. There were some really good, really imaginative ones, too. Oh well, maybe next year!
It was a fun day, for a great cause. And thanks to some of you, we raised over $1000, which is the most money I've ever raised for this! It was so exciting, and it made me feel so happy. Thanks to everyone who donated, I really cannot stress how thankful I am because there was certainly no expectation on my part that people from not around here would go out of their way.
The best part was watching Katie - she had the time of her life, and was wiped out for the next two days! She spent the whole day with this happy look on her face.
And it was the most successful Mutt Strut ever! On the day, they totalled $145,000, and donations were still coming in! That's a *lot* of money raised for a relatively small non-profit. A lot of animals are going to be saved and cared for with that amount of money, and that is worth everything.
Let's just say that Katie wasn't the only one smiling. 😄
*****
We're away starting tomorrow for just a couple of days for an anniversary trip, so I'll check in next week. I hope you have a wonderful Friday and weekend, with lots of time to do what you like best. Take care.
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