so many dogs, so little time......

i made the ultimate sacrifice today and woke up at the ridiculous time of 6:45 a.m. i'm not sure what i was thinking when i signed up to help with the registration set-up for the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society PADS to the Pavement 5 km walk/run and 2 km walk. this year is the 11th year they've been doing it, and it helps to raise money for this important charity. this event also has the distinction of being the only dog-sanctioned run/walk! ppl of all shapes, sizes, colours, ages, abilities/disabilities showed up today - it was really great to see so many ppl participating in this great event.

once i got to the walk/run site at central park and started pitching in, my adrenaline kicked in (sans caffeine!) and it was go, go, go! there was so much to do to get this event organized. there were almost as many volunteers as there were racers! and the dogs! oh, the dogs! small dogs, skinny dogs, big dogs, puppy dogs, gorgeous dogs, not-so-gorgeous dogs, they were all out in force! a lot of the puppies from the kennel that i play with were out in the sunshine today w/their sitters, and the puppyraisers were out volunteering with their faithful companions by their sides. there were easily 60 dogs in the park today. perhaps even closer to 80. unfortunately i was so busy assisting w/registration, that i didn't really have time to take pictures of all the dogs.

after the race started and registration was dismantled, i headed off to the bbq for my well-deserved hot dog lunch. i joined a fellow volunteer, heather, and we got to chatting about PADS. she's not a regular volunteer, but after talking to me, i think she definitely wants to be a puppy cuddler. there's going to be 2 new litters of lab puppies very soon! heather has a golden retriever at home, so being a puppyraiser has some challenges for her so puppy cuddling could be the next best thing. finally, around 11:30 we both called it a day, and headed home.

i have to admit that despite the early alarm, it was a great morning and i thoroughly enjoyed spending more time around the dogs and actually seeing some of the dogs that have been placed with recipients. it's all very heart-warming :-)

i'll take a picture of the puppies tomorrow when i go cuddle. i can't wait to see them again!