Woof-a-Thon thrives in new location at high school

Jamie Jones of Snohomish brought her two llamas, Monita and Martina, to the 6th annual Ocean Shores Woof-a-Thon at North Beach High School, where the pair were a hit with the other four-legged friends.

“This is great,” Jones said of the reception received by her pair of odd additions to the annual event. Dogs of all shapes, sizes, colors and their friends of equal diversity mingled and marched for the benefit of animal welfare charities.

“We came down to the beach to do some cart riding,” Jones said of the llamas, who were out pulling her on rides along the beach later that afternoon. “I saw that this was going on, so I said, why not see if they would let them in. Everybody has been so nice.”

Organizer Wilma Spike said she believed the participation and number of dogs was higher this year than last.

The participants circled the track at North Beach High School, where the event was relocated for the first time because of a conflict at North Bay Park. Most of those who had participated before said they preferred the new location because it gave spectators an opportunity to view all the dogs — and llamas that were on hand.

One of the popular fund-raising highlights is the annual raffle of a variety of elaborate, themed gift baskets, more than a dozen this year. A new feature this year honored the memory of Woof-a-Thon’s mascot and “logo dog,” Pearl, Spike’s beloved blue merle Pomeranian who “crossed the rainbow bridge” earlier this year.

Woof-a-Thon beneficiaries this year, and their websites, are:

West Coast Search Dogs of Washington, www.westcoastsearchdogs.org

Harbor Rescue, www.harborrescue.net

Gentle Paws Hospice & Sanctuary, www.gentlepawssanctuary.org

PAWS of Grays Harbor, www.pawsgh.org

More information on the event and the non-profit organization is available online on their Facebook page,Woofathon, and their website, www.oceanshoreswoofathon.org.

Angelo Bruscas/North Coast News The participants in the 2017 Ocean Shores Woof-a-Thon walk begin circling the track at North Beach High School, where the event was relocated for the first time because of a conflict at North Bay Park. Most of those who had participated before said they preferred the new location because it gave spectators an opportunity to view all the dogs — and llamas that were on hand.