Benefit For New Rochelle Humane Society

Grab the leash, attach it to your dog's collar and head to Glen Island Park Sunday for the fourth annual Hounds on the Sound Walk-a-thon and Festival.

The event begins with registration at 10:00 a.m. and continues through 3:00 p.m. The walk will kick off at 11:30 a.m. 

The walk-a-thon benefits the New Rochelle Humane Society and Pet Rescue of Larchmont, said Humane Society Board Member Dianne Heim, with a percentage of the take going to the Mount Vernon Animal Shelter.

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Though the event is about raising money, "we want everyone to have a wonderful time with their dogs," Heim said. "It is a fun day."

She said last year her organization got about $27,000 from the walk, down from the previous year.

Heim is hoping the weather will hold and not affect attendance. The walk will take place "rain or shine."

"It costs a lot of money to run a shelter," she said. "We have very, very high veterinarian bills, and there's food, staff and all kinds of programs for the animals including training."

Heim said there about 35 to 40 dogs at the shelter now, along with about 190 cats, though the number is beginning to decrease because breeding season is over.

She said there will be vendors selling animal-related merchandise and promoting services.

Pet Rescue will be adopting out dogs at the event, Heim said. The Humane Society will not be doing that, but will have a few dogs on hand so people can see what is available at the shelter.

For Heim, the highlight of the walk-a-thon is seeing people with dogs that were adopted from the shelter.

"It is so nice to see the people who are so thrilled with our dogs," she said.

"We are not here to house dogs," Heim said. "Our new mission statement is, from our home to yours."

If you are interested in participating in the walk-a-thon, you can register online at www.houndsonthesound.org or the morning of the event.

Founded in 1911, the New Rochelle Humane Society is a private, not-for-profit organization that cares for lost, abandoned, injured and mistreated animals. The organization provides rescue services 17 communities in Westchester County including Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Hartsdale, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Larchmont, Mamaroneck Village, New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, Rye, Rye Brook, Scarsdale and Tarrytown.

For a look at last year's Hounds on the Sound, click here.