Paws in the Park raises awareness for Columbia Second Chance

Events included a fashion show, look-alike contest and agility course.

By Eric Rees

Published Sept. 15, 2009

Stephens Lake Park went to the dogs, cats and guinea pigs Saturday.

For the past three years, animals and their owners have been coming to Stephens Lake Park for Paws in the Park to support local organization Columbia Second Chance.

Second Chance is a not-for-profit agency that works directly with the Central Missouri Humane Society to help find homes for animals. The all-volunteer shelter also takes animals from the public but helps CMHS first.

"I don't actually know how Paws in the Park came up," said Shannon Kasmann, a longtime board member with Columbia Second Chance. "We wanted some sort of animal-themed festival to bring everyone out."

Paws in the Park brought all types of dogs together in a clearing at Stephens Lake Park. In the middle of the clearing stood a dog agility course where the day's activities took place. Great Danes and Yorkshire terriers mingled among booths around the course, set up by sponsors.

One such booth was representing PETCO. Kate Trip, the representative for the company, explained PETCO couldn't operate without shelters like Second Chance.

"As a corporation, we don't sell dogs or cats," Trip said. "We invite rescues in, and that's really a huge part of our focus."

The day's festivities started with a fashion show of a new clothing line for humans, while also giving Second Chance animals some publicity. Dogs searching for permanent homes shared spotlight as they strutted down the runway with human companions.

Four-legged friends weren't the only ones excited to come to Paws in the Park. Animal shelters and rescues everywhere have felt the impact from the nationwide recession, and Second Chance is no exception.

"I'd say we're doing pretty steady," Kasmann said. "I will say that, for us as well as CMHS, adoptions in general have been down this year."

Kasmann said some shelters are getting along fine, but the public needs to realize shelters aren't totally funded by the city.

"CMHS has a budget of about a million dollars, but Columbia only helps out with 10 percent of that," Kasmann said. "But the turnout for our event this year seems to be good."

After the fashion show, a fetch contest followed, with all types of dogs competing to see who could fetch three newspapers in the shortest time. Some competitors easily brought the newspapers back to their owners, but others had trouble focusing with the other animals around them.

Dogs and owners had many things to do with all the booths present at the event. Man's best friend could get a snapshot taken at one sponsor's photo booth. Another sponsor handed out free dog treats, and the line for that tent was long all day.

"This is a great event," CMHS Executive Director Patty Forister said. "We love to come here and set up a booth and see some of our wonderful dogs."

Forister said her organization works hand-in-hand with Second Chance whenever possible. She said whether they adopt out the animals or Second Chance finds them a home, it's always good to come to the events and see animals they helped place in homes.

"This is also an opportunity for us to talk about animal welfare alongside Second Chance," Forister said. "We're all working toward the same goal — that there are no more homeless pets and that no animals are neglected either."

One of the final events for the day was the pet and owner look-alike contest. Some of the similarities between pairs were striking and some, not so much. The contest, to allow more contestants, added a "best dressed" category. Dressed in full MU football and cheerleader gear, Chloe and Daphne, owned by Columbia resident Rebecca Smith, showed off for the crowd.

"This is our second year," Smith said. "We do the dress up every year. We come for the dogs and to also support Second Chance."

But not everyone at Paws in the Park was there for the dogs. One side of the clearing was reserved for the Kitten Corner, which housed some of the cats up for adoption. Ages ranged from four months to 13 years old, and even the number of legs ranged, with Murphy, an older but docile cat, having only three legs. With cats, Second Chance doesn't just wait for them to be dropped off at the shelter, but they take them off the streets.

"We did what we call a 'multi-trap day,'" Second Chance volunteer Kimberly Newberry said. "We trapped 42 cats in three days."

Newberry helped staff the Kitten Corner during the event. They ended up taking in about 10 cats Second Chance deemed adoptable, but they also took in two mother cats each with a litter of five kittens.

"We have two great facilities, one for the cats and one for the dogs," Kasmann said. "Between the two, we can take around 100 dogs but also 100 cats."

As the festival came to a close, the last major event of the day was an agility demonstration on the course. Different sizes of dogs were taken through the course and showed off their skills as they jumped hurdles and maneuvered through weave poles before doubling back through a chute barrel and doing the same obstacles again.

Much like the shade helped people escape from the heat and the bowls of water helped panting dogs, Paws in the Park helped raise awareness about Second Chance and its goals in Columbia.

"Second Chance is a great organization and they are in shelters everyday, checking out animals and seeing if they can put them into foster homes," Forister said. "It's always a real treat to see the animals with their new families at a fun event like this."