The 24th Annual Wag-A-Thon by the Paw Pals of Clinton County Humane Society kicked off Saturday with around 30 dogs in attendance with numerous Humane Society residents participating with community members, staff and volunteers.
The Wag-A-Thon is an approximately 1-mile walk around portions of TPA Park where community members are encouraged to bring their dogs to participate. The annual Wag-A-Thon acts as a fundraiser for the Paw Pals to continue their dedicated work for the residents of the Humane Society, including sponsoring medical bills for the residents, prescription foods, toys, beds, vaccines and more to ensure their time at the shelter is comfortable and joyful.
The Wag-A-Thon became a staple of the Clinton County community and animal lovers as they are invited to walk their dogs or their residents of the shelter, hear more about the residents of the shelter, find out more about those who have found their forever homes and earn prizes at the end of the event.
The event raised just over $16,000 in 2022, neared $17,000 in 2023 and this year saw the total pushing over $15,000 before the event even kicked off on Saturday due to donations, sponsorships and more. Paw Pals President Pam Butz commented about the causes and cares that the funds raised are utilized for in regard to the residents.
“We try to cover anything that doesn’t have anything to do with maintenance, upkeep of the building, salaries or anything like that,” Butz said. “Our money goes to the shelter residents.”
Butz announced on Saturday that from January to the annual Wag-A-Thon in May, the Paw Pals have already spent around $15,000 to help the residents of the Humane Society with medical bills and more this year, which indicates that the amount of funds raised through the Wag-A-Thon and other donations that were raised in previous years.
“If people do the math, we’ve already spent what we’ve raised, but it seems like every year, a little surplus carries over,” Butz said. “We’re okay, but we usually spend more than what we actually raise in that year, but we’ve had some good years where we didn’t spend as much, so it just carried over. We’re fortunate in that regard. We’ve had a couple amputations and skin issues this year, and the cats keep us busy.”
Butz described the impact of Paw Pals throughout the years, such as helping with funding severe injuries with burned residents and residents in need of major surgeries, and the organization raises its funds and makes decisions with only a small crew of members who meet every month.
“It’s a small group of us,” Butz said. “I like to say there’s eight of us that meet every month, but the people that donate are really the members of Paw Pals.”
Butz continued to describe the reason that the organization was founded as the shelter saw a need for medical expenses to be funded through community efforts to maintain its facility with its own budget, which led to the foundation of Paw Pals in Clinton County.
“We’re an organization that pays for vet care, which includes medicines, special surgeries and vaccinations,” Butz said. “We also provide food, other supplies and anything else it takes to keep the shelter residents happy and healthy as they wait for their forever home.”
For more information, visit the Paw Pals of Clinton County Humane Society on Facebook.
