Strutt With Your Mutt 2010

One of the fun activities at the Strutt was the Dog and Owner Lookalike contest.

I don’t have my own mutt, but I was tempted to borrow Loki to participate in Wayside Waif’s 20th annual Strutt With Your Mutt on Sept. 25, 2010, in the Brookside area of Kansas City, Missouri.  Loki would have been so excited to strut with so many dogs, as many as I’ve ever seen in one place at one time.  There were dogs practically as large as ponies, and small dogs that could fit in a purse. There were dogs in every size and shape and color.  The dogs were very well-behaved, amazing since there were so many people and dogs in close contact.  They even knew their manners when food was served.

Dachshunds of every color!

More than 1,200 people participated and $100,000 was raised, making this year’s Strutt the most successful ever, according to Wayside Waifs. Wayside Waifs is a no-kill animal shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, and places 6,000 cats and dogs every year into “furr-ever” homes. In addition to the strutters, more than forty volunteers helped out, and four corporations offered their help, too.  Click here to learn more about Wayside Waifs. You can also “friend” Wayside Waifs on Facebook for a lot more information and updates and check out Wayside Waifs on YouTube and Twitter. Check out my previous posts on Wayside Waifs through my blog search engine.

Instead of Loki, I brought a camera to capture the strutters as well contests featuring the dog and owner lookalikes, costumes, tricks and best canine kisser.  There is also an ongoing “hot tails” contest, Wayside Waifs’ second annual virtual fund-raiser. Vote for your favorite “hot tail” by clicking on Wayside Waifs Hot Tails contest. Voting ends on Oct. 21, so don’t just sit there on your tail. Get out your credit card to decide who’s wagging the hottest tail in town!

I’m not playing favorites, but here’s a blog featuring one of the candidates. Banana Abby. (Ok, maybe I have a favorite, although they are all adorable and deserve to win. I voted for a dog whose name rhymes with Not Rockets. Remember, Wayside Waifs gets all of the money to take care of those homeless dogs and cats.) Don’t click on the links until you have looked at the whole blog, because the links don’t open in new windows.

Annie, the Grand Marshal, starts off the Strutt.

Strutters visited the Wayside Waifs mobile adoption van.

Chris Cakes Pancakes attracted a lot of business. Proceeds went to Wayside Waifs.

Owners and candidates for "Hot Tails" line up on stage. How can you not vote for every one of these hot dogs -- and one cat.

This little dog doesn't have his upper paws, but he knows how to do the macarena.

Strutters relaxing in front of the stage.

Best costume candidates.

Breakfast al fresco.

These puppies awaited adoption at the Wayside Waifs mobile adoption van at the Strutt With Your Mutt. At least two puppies found their "furr-ever" homes that morning.

More than 1,200 people participated in the 20th annual Wayside Waifs Strutt With Your Mutt.

Lots of water for dogs and people.

Performing tricks for the crowd.

Strutting in style.

The Kansas City Royals baseball mascot Slugger has a treat for a very attentive dog friend.

Competitors in the owner and dog lookalike contest.

Strutters at the end of a very successful Strutt With Your Mutt event.

A dog hitches a ride for the macarena.

Wayside Waifs president Cynthia L. Smith does the twist with her dog.

Wayside Waifs

Penelope is just too cute to be limited to only one photograph! She's one of the many kittens and cats available at Wayside Waifs in Kansas City, Missouri.

My weekly volunteer assignment:  Photograph cats and kittens available for adoption for the website of Wayside Waifs, Inc., an independent, not-for-profit humane society and animal welfare organization established in 1944.

Serino stretches out. Some cats are allowed to roam the cat area.

I’ve owned cats for almost twenty years (I should say that cats have owned me), so I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get most cats to pose.  There’s a reason for the old saying about how hard it is to “herd cats.”  Even cats who like to hang out and sit pretty will spring into action when you aim a camera at them.  Other cats withdraw into their cubbyholes.

As expected, the kittens were the hardest.  Open the cage, and the kitten explode out like jacks in a  box. The staff laughed, when I kept saying “sit,” which is what I say to Loki (dog at home) fifty times a day. I should know better!

Awww. A group hug. A second later, this trio was alert and trying to escape!

I got my first cat, Malcolm, at Wayside Waifs almost twenty years ago, so I have a special connection to the place.  When I first visited Wayside Waifs, it was housed in a small building.  Now, it has a very nice building, run completely by donations.  It has some heavy hitter donors, too, like Hallmark, which is headquartered in Kansas City.  It has a paid staff, but hundreds of volunteers keep it running, too. In fact, I had a hard time getting in!  In the future, you can be sure you’ll be reading more about Wayside Waifs and seeing a lot more photographs of adorable cats. I may be taking dog photographs, too.

Wayside Waifs website.

Centaurus and Gemini.

Aslan.

The very beautiful Grace Kelly is camera-shy. She wasn't ready for her close-up. When she saw my camera she moved back into her box. I'll try again next week, although hopefully someone will take home this adorable girl by then.

Hanging out.

Mackie struts her stuff in the community room. In the background is the original sign for Wayside Waifs, Inc., an independent, not-for-profit humane society and animal welfare organization established in 1944.

Kitties!