Favorite moments from Best Friends’ Strut Your Mutt event

Move over, walkies. After last weekend, your dog’s new favorite phrase is, “Do you … wanna … go for a … strut?” Pooches (and their people) attended Best Friends Animal Society’s Strut Your Mutt event — sponsored by KSL Classifieds — at Liberty Park to fundraise for homeless pets with treats, music and costume contests. Did we love it? Abso-floof-ly.

Dogs and their owners walked around Liberty Park at Best Friends Animal Society's Strut Your Mutt event to raise money for animal shelters and rescues. Photo credit: Chad Hurst

A happy turnout

KSL Classifieds sponsored this event as part of our pledge to help homeless animals in Utah, and was paws-itively thrilled with how the event turned out. 

“It was incredible to see so many people coming together for such a great cause,” said Tiffany Rhodes, senior marketing manager for KSL Classifieds, “We are so proud of the amount of good KSL Classifieds has been able to make in the pet community this year.”

An event like this, that’s just for pets, wouldn’t be possible without kind hearts and the positive reputation of Best Friends Animal Society. There were 526 people registered for Strut Your Mutt, but actual attendance was likely double. Over $54,000 was raised for animal welfare organizations across the state. 

Sounds like someone deserves some belly scritches.  

Over $54,000 was raised for animal welfare organizations across the state. Photo credit: Chad Hurst

Look for the helpers

Mister Rogers would have loved what Best Friends has created with events like Strut Your Mutt. With its ongoing efforts to support animals in need, Best Friends has more than earned the status of helpers. 

Best Friends works directly in partnership with groups such as the No-Kill Utah Network in an effort to put an end to shelter killings in Utah by 2025. And it seems their efforts are paying off, because Utah is now the largest no-kill state in the nation.

The organization’s passion for educating people and raising money for homeless pets has created communities that will continue to advocate for ethical treatment of animals and help them find loving homes.   

Best Friends works directly in partnership with several animal welfare groups in an effort to end shelter killings in Utah by 2025. Photo credit: Chad Hurst

We strut our mutts, too

At check-in, attendees got a swag bag filled with all sorts of goodies such as doggy calming chews, a Strut Your Mutt T-shirt and a bright blue tennis ball from KSL.com. KSL Classifieds was handing out swag from its truck, too. Thanks for the new leash! The starting line for the Strut Your Mutt walk —  a sea of snoots — was hilarious and adorable. So many drive-by sniffs!

The costume contest was a favorite, with dogs dressed as hot dogs, Ken and Barbie and — the winners — dressed as “Men in Black.” Pat Theobald, community engagement manager at Best Friends agreed. “My favorite part of the Strut Your Mutt event this year was the dog contests, where people were able to bring their pups on stage and show off their tricks and costumes.”

Dogs and owners chilled on the open lawn, listening to the band Blind Love play while waiting for their names to be drawn in raffles. Browsing vendors was a treat. Literally — dog biscuits and food trucks galore! A Best Friends’ vendor handed out frisbees and sold sweatshirts that said, “Pawsitive Attitude: Eat. Walk. Play. Slay.” And boy oh good boy did the dogs at this event do just that. 

Getting by with a little help from our friends

If there’s anything to be learned from this event, it’s that people love to come together for our animals. It’s telling when everyone is so enthusiastic and all smiles. 

“I really appreciate [KSL Classifieds] help with Strut Your Mutt!” said Theobald. “We love having the opportunity to bring pet lovers from across the city together to show our support for the groups that are saving animals' lives every day.”

Last year, KSL Classifieds revamped our Pets category with help from experts at Best Friends Animal Society and the Humane Society of Utah in order to crack down on suspicious or unethical breeders.  

“We appreciate KSL Classifieds' changes to their site,” said Elizabeth Oreck, national manager of puppy mill initiatives from Best Friends, “and applaud their commitment to making their pet classifieds safer and more responsible for pets and consumers, for supporting the adoption of homeless pets, and for providing educational resources so that anyone looking to obtain a pet can make the most informed decision possible.”  

KSL Classifieds sponsored this event as part of our pledge to help homeless animals in Utah. Photo credit: Chad Hurst

KSL Classifieds’ commitment to our pets

KSL has tips for caring for your pet and helping in our animal community. We even make the adoption process easier with our Petfinder integration.    

With the implementation of our $15 dog listing fee last year — where a portion of the fees give back to homeless animals — and sponsoring events like Strut Your Mutt, we hope to bring more people together to help our cherished little furballs. KSL Classifieds pledges to continue our efforts to help animals both on our site and within our community and ensure Utah becomes a no-kill state.