SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Pup lovers of Utah will soon have another chance to walk alongside their four-legged family and join the canine community for the annual Strut Your Mutt fundraiser in Salt Lake City.

This year, Strut Your Mutt will take place on Saturday, October 21, and is expected to bring dog families from across the state to join in the festivities.

  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society
  • Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society

The event is best known for its group dog walk, which will be hosted at Liberty Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All ages are welcome to join the jaunt around the park and help contribute to the event’s fundraising goal of $100,000.

Strut Your Mutt, hosted by Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) for the past 28 years, is a highly-anticipated fundraising dog walk that occurs every fall season to help the organization raise money and save the lives of homeless pets living in Utah.

Founded in 1984, Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization that’s working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025.

According to BFAS, approximately 1,700 dogs and cats are killed in Utah shelters every year due to lack of space. As shelters across the country are also currently over capacity, the upcoming Strut Your Mutt event is more important than ever to help achieve their goal.

According to Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society: “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.”

Participants on Saturday have the option to support and raise funds for Best Friends Animal Society or their favorite local participating animal welfare organization. Various cat organizations will also reportedly benefit from being part of Strut Your Mutt this year.

Besides the group walk, the event will have kids zone activities, a pet psychic, and a dog caricature artist, as well as food and beverage vendors.

Visit the BFAS website for more information and to register for Strut Your Mutt 2023.