Best Friends Animal Society’s Strut Your Mutt Is Back: October 21 

October 9, 2023 (Salt Lake City, UT) -- Best Friends Animal Society’s annual fundraising dog walk, Strut Your Mutt, will take place in the animal welfare organization’s home state of Utah on Saturday, October 21. Best Friends, a pioneer in the no-kill movement, has been hosting this event annually for the past 28 years to raise money and save the lives of homeless pets in Utah.  

According to data from Best Friends, approximately 1,700 dogs and cats are killed in Utah shelters every year simply because they don’t have a space place to call home. 

Participants of Strut Your Mutt can choose to support and raise funds for Best Friends or their favorite local participating animal welfare organization. Fundraising efforts will be celebrated with a group dog walk on October 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Liberty Park. All ages are welcome to enjoy a stroll to save lives, with a fundraising goal of $100,000 for the event. 

“I was part of the first Strut Your Mutt in Salt Lake City in 1996. At that point, I didn’t dream that it would evolve into a national event that has helped raise funds for hundreds of shelter and rescue groups,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “28 years later, we are returning to our roots and will hold one live event in Best Friends’ home state of Utah. I look forward to celebrating how far we’ve come and working together to take us to no-kill by 2025.”  

Best Friends Strut Your Mutt features local animal organizations raising crucial funds needed to save the lives of more pets in their care. This event is even more critical this year, as all across the country shelters are at or over capacity. 

Registration is $35 and includes a T-shirt. The event is not limited to dog lovers; many cat organizations have also benefitted from being a part of Strut Your Mutt. The event will feature kids zone activities, pet psychic, dog caricature artist and food trucks.  

For more information on participating rescue groups and shelters, fundraising opportunities, walk information, and more, visit bestfriends.org/strut. 

Thank you to our sponsors KSL Classifieds, Fox 13, and Quantum Fiber who help make Strut Your Mutt a huge lifesaving success.  

To learn more about becoming a volunteer, please visit bestfriends.org/salt-lake-city.