Dogs and masters of all shapes and sizes joined Paws for a Cause. Photos 250 News

Prince George, B.C. – It looked like the day was going to the dogs when Angela McLaren noted that the Paws for a Cause is about fighting cruelty to all animals, not just our canine friends.

However it was mainly dogs and their human friends, ruffly 200 of them, who turned out at Cottonwood Island Park Sunday for the walk. There was one ferret on a leash and there were people taking part who do not have a dog or pet but wanted to support the cause. As well, Victoria was there with her dog Abby (pictured right), who was rescued from the SPCA shelter four months ago. The now six-month-old is believed to be a Border Collie-Shepherd-Beagle mix.

McLaren, branch manager of the North Cariboo SPCA, says the 3 kilometre walk “is an annual event where people come out and raise and donate money to the SPCA. Along with the walk there’s a lot of activities going on, there’s booths where people come and see animal-related products that are out there.”

She says “people are always under the impression that it is a walk just for dogs but in reality cats can come out. But it’s to raise funds for all types on animals that come into the BC SPCA. We do farm animals too, and we also get a lot of wildlife that comes through the shelter and we deal with a lot of wildlife rescues. We do a lot of horses too, particularly in regards to seizures so we get a lot of different animals coming into our care, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, turtles, you name it we get it.”

Asked if there’s a high incidence of animal cruelty in the area McLaren says “well the shelter investigates about 300 animal cruelty cases a year in the Northern region so that’s substantially high. The great part is we have two special constables in Prince George who investigate those cases. The reality is cruelty exists in any community, but 300 is relatively high.”

McLaren says the whole point of Paws for a Cause “is to get people to raise funds for the BC SPCA. People who had registered (for the event) will already have raised funds. We also have merchandise, including hoodies, T-shirts, caps, mugs, tote bags, kid’s plush toys, pop and water and other things available for sale to generate income for the SPCA. All of the money is used for the general care and operations of BC SPCA.”