USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 18, No. 42
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
October 24, 2018
1 Section, 8 Pages
Barktoberfest Finding a new home
By Kaitlyn Peacock
lovers and doggie costume enthusiasts Animal gather every year for the annual Barktoberfest
hosted by the Pensacola Humane Society. With the event going on 17 years, it has grown out of Seville Square and will be hosted at Community Maritime Park, Oct. 27. With the change in venue, Barktoberfest is set to be bigger than it has ever been, with new events and more rescues.
Barktoberfest brings together animal rescues from all over the Gulf Coast, from Mobile to Fort Walton, to celebrate and find dogs their forever home. “It’s a great day for anybody who loves their animals or pets in general to come out and be with like-minded folks, with all kinds of activities, and maybe take home a new rescue pet that day,” Pensacola Humane Society Executive Director Jennifer Bitner said. “We are really looking forward to it.” Along with finding homes for dogs, the festival raises money for the Humane Society and other rescues. Last year, Barktoberfest raised between $55,000 to $60,000 in donations. This year, the Humane Society is hoping to reach $65,000. Many of the donations were made as part of one of the most popular events of the festival, the Most Adorable Pet Contest. Last year’s winner was Anna, a blind dog rescued from the Pensacola Humane Society. This year, the event will return, with people able to submit and vote on their pets at gogophotocontest.com/pensacolahumanesociety. The winner will be featured at Barktoberfest. Along with the Most Adorable Pet, other contests will be held, including best trick, best costume, best wiggly butt and more. Between the contests, expect to see more animal entertainment, including a dog-centered square dancing group. The Humane Society is also excited to show off its newest addition to the fight in finding forever homes for pets: the Humane Express, a mobile adoption unit. After being awarded a grant by Impact100 in October last year, the Humane Society ordered a large bus capable of holding about 20 animals in an air conditioned environment that can be taken to events all over the city. The bus includes features such as running water, a functioning refrigerator and more. It arrived at the Humane Society in April and since then has attended events throughout the city. Around the Humane Society, the Express is known as “Jenn’s bus.” Bitner was not shy in admitting that she loves the Express, and knows it will have a huge impact on adoptions not just as Barktoberfest, but at events throughout the Gulf Coast. The bus will be at Barktoberfest with animals aboard that will be up for adoption.
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Bitner explained that the bus is just one part of the main goal of Barktoberfest, which is and always will be to find new homes for the dogs featured at the event. The Humane Society adopts out about five to 10 dogs from Barktoberfest alone, however the rescues attending will bring hundreds of dogs available for adoption. “There’s a lot of local rescues that are looking for an opportunity for exposure to the work that they are doing,” Bitner said. “This is really an opportunity to highlight that in this community and all the work that is being done.” Giving rescues a platform to find other people out in the community, and for potential pet owners to get in contact with new rescues, is a huge aspect of Barktoberfest, and one that the Humane Society seeks to expand and highlight. Many of the rescues featured at events like Barktoberfest don’t have a storefront, as the Humane Society does. Instead, these rescues are often run out of a home, with their main promotion coming from attending events and networking through social media online. “You figure, we are brick and mortar, a facility, a destination, where you can see our pets,” Bitner said. “A lot of these rescues do this out of their homes. So they don’t have the ability to have the exposure we do with have a physical location that we operate out of every single day. This gives them one central place to come and get some visibility, talk about the good work they are doing, because you’ve got these like-minded people that are out there that care about animals.” Although the event is centered around pet adoption and pet owners, any animal lover will find something to do and enjoy. With festival season in Pensacola growing as the weather cools, Barktoberfest is set to be the biggest and best animal-based festival the community can look forward to. “It is a community-wide event, just like any other festival that takes place here in Pensacola,” Bitner said. “This one just happens to be geared toward pet owners.” There are no breed restrictions for Barktoberfest, the Humane Society only asks that you keep your dog on a leash and know your dog’s limits when interacting with other animals and people. Other animals are allowed as well, but again, know your pet’s limits.
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