LIMERICK PA – About 500 dogs, and by some estimates nearly three times that many people, crowded Saturday (April 17, 2010) into Limerick’s Community Park over a four-hour period to make the annual Pottstown Area Bark For Life fund-raiser to benefit the American Cancer Society another rousing success.
- See more photos from the event in a Post gallery here.
- Watch video from the event above, or at The Post’s YouTube account.
- See a second video from the event here, at the YouTube account of Dan Krueger.
Officially promoted as the “Big Bark Birthday Bash,” the event is the spring predecessor to the Pottstown Area Relay For Life in June that, again this year, will be conducted at Pottsgrove High School. During the relay, humans walk for 24 hours to collect donations that fund cancer research and treatment. At Saturday’s bark bash, participating pets were similarly walked just a mile on a path at the park, Swamp Pike and Ziegler Road, Limerick PA.
Pets, pet owners and even passers-by could feel the love emanating Saturday from Limerick Community Park, where the 2010 edition of the Pottstown PA Area Bark For Life was held.
It was a mile filled with happy sounds, as pet owners, friends and family members joined dogs or all sizes, shapes and breeds for the charitable exercise. The top five fund-raising teams – there were dozens of teams and individuals involved – collected more than $20,600 alone. Tens of thousands more in cancer-fighting dollars were expected, co-organizer Sue Dudek of Pottstown PA said.
The 65-acre expanse offered within the Limerick PA township park gave the event growing room it has needed since its start, Dudek noted. The bark bash included an extensive pet community area where vendors like veterinarians, pet care providers, pet food sellers and other merchants and services set up tents to promote their firms. Many held sales and donated a portion of their proceeds to Bark For Life.
The event, which originated in Pottstown and has since flourished nationwide, previously was held at Pottstown’s Riverfront Park, and Sanatoga’s Sunnybrook Ballroom.
Dana Romer of Pottstown and her dog, Jericho, were among the returning participants. “We come out to the Bark For Life every year,” she said, patting her dog’s head. Jericho’s mile-long jog this year was dedicated in memory of Romer’s father, who died last September.
Event co-organizer Sue Dudek of Pottstown, left, and volunteer Hanna Hartman, manager of the Sanatoga branch of National Penn Bank, work Saturday to set up registration lines for participants.
“A lot of times dogs can bring people together in a way that other events might be a little embarrassing or hard to handle,” Romer added, “so it raises a lot of money for cancer research.”
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