Rescue group goes to the dogs

Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012
Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012

Dress up the pooch and bring him or her to Peltier Park for contests, photo ops and an all-round canine-centric day.


HOPE for Animals hosts Dog Day Afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 14. In addition to crowning champions in various contests, the event features its first weenie dog race, a battle between the diminutive daschunds.


“I think it will be funny to see those little short legs running toward the finish line,” says Ruth Chiasson, vice president of HOPE for Animals.

HOPE (Humane Organization for the Protection and Education) was established in the mid-90s and has had similar events annually for nearly 15 years.


Owners can register their canines for $5 per category or $5 for Best in Show consideration. Categories include Best Halloween Contest, Macho Contest, Beauty Contest, Best Sports (LSU and Saints) Attire and Dynamic Duo, an owner-dog combination.


Registration runs form 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Parade of HOPE – a showcase of pets adopted through the organization and those the organization has for adoption – follows immediately after and the show starts at 1 p.m.

Also for the first time this year, Dog Day Afternoon includes a weenie dog look-a-like contest, for the pet that “kind of looks like a weenie dog but isn’t,” Chiasson says.


For a small fee, owners and their pets can snuggle up to Santa Claus, whose gracious visit is meant to satisfy photo requests. “We’ve been doing this for years, and it’s really quite successful,” Chiasson says.

HOPE for Animals presents the event, but other groups are in the mix. Purple Penguin Art Company hosts a paw-print paint session; the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office gives a K-9 exhibition; the Thibodaux Fire Department showcases Sparky; and Canine Etiquette showcases an agility course – featuring a slide – for trained dogs.

“The agility course will be put on by a certified dog trainer, Cathy Stevens,” Chiasson says. “It’s probably going to be a tunnel for dogs to go through and something like a slide, but she’ll have different things out there to interest the dogs and see what they can do.”

Wanting families can start the adoption process through Hope for Animals and converse with other local rescue shelters. HOPE for Animals doesn’t do on-site adoption, but interested owners can fill out an application.

HOPE for Animals works to increase awareness of overpopulation and animal cruelty. The Thibodaux-based non-profit organization shelters hundreds of animals each year in Lafourche, Terrebonne and Assumption parishes and has an adoption system that includes surveying would-be homes for fitness.

Admission is free.

Squirt, one of HOPE for Animals’ adoptables, is showcased with her Halloween garb. The organization hosts Dog Day Afternoon Oct. 14.

Courtesy