Hundreds Gather For 'Mutt Strut' In Dearborn

DEARBORN (WWJ) -- Hundreds of animal lovers strutted their stuff with their pooches this weekend, all for a good cause.

The Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit shelter hosted its 12th Annual Mutt Strut 5K Run and Walk on Saturday morning at Ford Field Park in Dearborn. Attendees got to enjoy food and games -- including a Best Licker/Kisser contest for the dogs.

More than 400 animal lovers took part in the event that included booths, pet fun area, raffles, food trucks, hot dog toss, musical hoops and peanut butter licker contest.

Mickey Lyons, spokesperson for Friends for Animals, said they have an ongoing need for pet adoptions and that proceeds from Saturday's event going to benefit the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

"We had an Empty the Shelter event on April 29 and we did manage to adopt out every single adoptable animal that we had in the shelter over the course of the day," Lyons said. "Just a couple of weeks later, we're full again. So the need never stops."

Friends for Animals helps place 2,400 animals annually in their "forever homes."

"Afterwards we have awards, we've got raffles, we've got all sorts of contests and activities for the dogs and for their families," Lyons said.

For more information about Friends for Animals, you can visit the organization's Facebook page HERE.