After this year’s walk, many participants gathered together for a group photo in Memorial Park
Russell Heir and his dog Zeus, who would have easily won the “coolest dog” competition if one had been held

May 23, 2018

The South Burnett RSPCA are very happy with attendance numbers at this year’s Million Paws Walk, which was held in Kingaroy’s Memorial Park last Sunday.

This year, 87 pet owners and their pups registered for the annual 4km walk around Kingaroy’s streets.

They then returned for a sunlit morning of fun and games in the park.

In between, they could also browse stalls selling pet accessories, chat with vets from the Kingaroy Veterinary Surgery and Barambah Veterinary Surgery, and fuel up with tea, coffee and snacks while young children had fun in a bouncing castle.

Walk organiser Sally Chambers said numbers at this year’s event were up on last year.

And thanks to an $810 donation from the South Burnett Regional Council’s Community Grants Program which covered the event’s costs, all proceeds of this year’s Walk have gone directly to the RSPCA.

The funds will be used to help the organisation care for the more than 18,000 dogs its shelters receive in Queensland each year.

Sally said she was very grateful for the support of local vets and stallholders, as well as the individuals and the businesses who donated prizes for the raffle and the dog events.

She also thanked musicians Frank Hodgkinson and Jane Erkens, who volunteered to provide some early-morning entertainment for the crowd.

And she paid a special tribute to Cr Danita Potter, who acted as this year’s compere.

“Danita was absolutely fantastic,” Sally said.

“She got the walk underway and when everyone got back to the park, she organised all the games and competitions and ensured everything ran smoothly.”

Sally said this year’s event had a very happy atmosphere, and despite the park being awash with excited four-legged friends the morning was incident-free.

This year’s Young Handler Award went to Ariel Lynagh with her dog Panda, and the Million Paws Walk Dog Challenge for 2018 was won by Kirby Reeves with her dog Rogue.

The Million Paws Walk is the RSPCA’s biggest annual fundraiser, with walks held all around Australia each May.

The South Burnett’s own Million Paws Walk started in 2007 and it’s a “dogs’ only” event.

But it has steadily grown in popularity over the past 12 years and many participants are now committed regulars.

Related articles:

Dani Hodson from Barambah Veterinary Surgery and Meryl Bartlem from Barambah Retreat gave their small dogs a well-earned rest
Peter Baumgartner and his 10-year-old Bichon Frise ‘Timmy’ have been regular participants in the Million Paws Walk for many years
Sally Robinson, 11, and her four-month-old dog ‘Millie’ were congratulated by mum Suzanne after completing this year’s Walk
Cassie Carsburg holds Azai – a three-year-old St Bernard cross – for Scott Salmon, 10, who won the Biggest Dog section
Caitlyn Cooper’s pup ‘Noonan’ won the Smallest Dog category
Kylah Stratford’s dog ‘Zoe’ took out the Waggiest Tail category with an exciting display of pup power
After the category competitions, Cr Danita Potter lined up competitors for the morning’s games, starting with an Egg and Spoon Race that used tennis balls to aid retrieval efforts if anyone dropped theirs
James Salmon won the egg and spoon race with ‘Alfie’, and was congratulated his brother Scott

  

 

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