The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Event enlists dogs in fight against cancer
UPPER MERION » Together, you and your furry best friend can put cancer in its place when Montgomery County Barks Back Against Cancer takes place in dogfriendly Heuser Park on Saturday, Nov. 4.
The event is hosted by the American Cancer Society, which invites dogs and their humans to spend what will hopefully be a beautiful fall day in the park that will be enhanced with amenities, such as food trucks, crafts, contests and a dog walk.
If all of this sounds like déjà vu to dog lovers, there’s good reason for that. The event shares a kindred spirit with previous dog-walking events called Bark for Life organized by the American Cancer Society in places like Pottstown and Phoenixville
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over the years.
“We’re giving this a new name and making it county-wide to bring in more people that perhaps weren’t familiar with the American Cancer Society. This specifically speaks to the dog market, where our Bark for Life was more of a Relay for Life-based event,” noted Bridget Kehoe, community development manager for Northeast Region American Cancer Society Inc.
“We’re making this more like a fair than a short dog walk, with a vendor fair, craft fair, food trucks, dog costume contest, obedience contest and the dog walk.”
Kehoe said that Heuser Park, 694 W. Beidler Road, provides an obvious setting for Montgomery County Barks Back Against Cancer.
“It’s an easy location for everybody to get to, with a beautiful walking trail, playground for kids and enough space for everything we wanted to do,” she pointed out.
Organizers will take time during the day to honor canine caregivers as well as human and canine cancer survivors.
“We all know that dogs don’t care what you look like or how you’re feeling that day. They they just want to love you unconditionally. We’re giving the canines special handmade dog tags that say ‘caregiver’ to honor everything they do for us. The American Cancer Society is committed to attacking cancer from all angles and we couldn’t do that without our dogs.”
While sharing the day with your canine companion, you’ll also be supporting the fight against cancer, with your $25-per-dog registration fee benefiting the American Cancer Society.
Jodi Benjamin, a longtime volunteer for the American Cancer Society through the Relay for Life of the Wissahickon Valley, said she’s excited about Montgomery County Barks Back Against Cancer because “it is a new event that pools volunteers and American Cancer Society staff from across the county together with dog lovers in a joint effort to support the fight against cancer. I am excited about the new venue, the food trucks and the opportunity to have fun together with our pets. From stately mastiffs to tough-talking Chihuahuas, dogs profoundly touch the hearts of the people who love them.”
Of all her fond memories of past dog events, one in particular resonates a bit more deeply for Benjamin.
“The one that really sticks out in my mind took place last year during our doggy costume contest when Charlie, a golden retriever from Blue Bell, showed up as a dead ringer for Harry Potter, down to the mark on his forehead.”
To register for Montgomery County Barks Back Against Cancer, visit www. main.acsevents.org/mcbb.
“Then, feel free to email (brittany.macleod@cancer. org) or text (774-571-0868) a picture of your pooch to Brittany MacLeod, who will add it to the event Facebook page (www.facebook.com/montcobarksback),” Benjamin said, “making your dog a Barks Back “spokespup.”
Dog-related businesses and organizations are invited to participate in this county-wide event by contacting MacLeod for vendor and sponsorship information.