4-legged friends join the fight against cancer

Bark for Life invites dogs to play for a good cause in Eudora this month

How to participate

Bark For Life will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 22, at Bluejacket Park in Eudora, 12th and Cedar streets on the west side of town.

The cost is $25 for one dog and one person or $35 for one person and two dogs. A family can attend the event with one or two dogs for $35. People without dogs can attend for free.

Pre-registered participants will receive a human T-shirt and a canine bandanna.

Pre-registration deadline is Aug. 10 and can be done by e-mailing Stacie.Schroeder@cancer.org or calling her at 785-438-5607. Registration will be accepted the day of the event, but T-shirts and bandannas are not guaranteed.

Vendor booths are available for $150, as well as corporate sponsorships.

Eudora Animal Hospital will have a veterinarian at the event. Canine etiquette at the event: a maximum six-foot leash, current vaccinations, cleaning up after Fido and respecting each dog’s space.

The American Cancer Society will accept donations of paper towels and new or used blankets, towels and sheets for the Lawrence Humane Society.

Woof. Woof. Woof.

The American Cancer Society is letting dogs play at a new fundraiser called Bark For Life.

The event — the first of its kind in Kansas — will be Aug. 22 in Eudora’s Bluejacket Park.

Unlike its traditional fundraiser, Relay For Life, during which dogs are banned from participating, Bark For Life is all about our four-legged friends.

“It is a disease that strikes humans and canines both. That’s why this event is so neat because we will have cancer survivors who are humans as well as canines,” said Jill Sittenauer, regional communications director of the American Cancer Society.

The event, which will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., will include activities for dogs and their owners. Among the activities will be a walking trail, obstacle course, prizes, pictures, food and displays.

To honor or memorialize a pet or person who battled cancer, special “Tribute Paws” can be purchased for $5 each. They will be displayed at the event.

A commemorative 2010 calendar will be available for pre-order, and calendar photos will be chosen from pictures taken during the event. There will be prizes for dogs that have the best bark and best smile, and they will be featured in the calendar.

“We are using this event as a way to get pets and their owners involved in the fight against cancer,” said Stacie Schroeder, community manager of development for the American Cancer Society. “It’s not necessarily going toward pet research, but it’s going to the mission.”

The money will go toward cancer research, education, outreach and patient services.

Schroeder said the idea originated with a similar event in Philadelphia. “I am an avid dog lover, so I am like: ‘We have to do this here,'” she said.

Organizers picked Eudora because the town, with a population of 6,200, doesn’t host an annual Relay for Life. Eudora hosted a relay from 1998 to 2006 but it became part of the countywide event, held every June in Lawrence.

Dr. George Schreiner, a veterinarian at Eudora Animal Hospital, said cancer diagnoses in animals are increasing.

“A lot of it has to do with the fact that owners are more aware and knowledgeable about it. I don’t think the rate of cancer in dogs has changed. I just think we are diagnosing it more,” said Schreiner, whose clinic is sponsoring water stations at the event.

Organizers hope at least 100 canines will participate in the event.

“It should be fun to watch,” Schroeder said.