Local animal rescue foundation hosts a community fundraising event

WRITTEN BY Noga Elhasid

Joybound, formerly known as ARF, is an animal rescue and pet adoption organization headquartered in Walnut Creek.  This year, Joybound threw a lively gathering with a good cause and many exciting activities on Sept. 14 in Broadway Plaza. At the event they held a fundraising parade, complete with a pet costume contest and live music, the event was fun, educational and important. The day kicked off with a “pawrade”, where Joybound volunteers and people with their dogs walked around Broadway Plaza, showing off their adorable companions. Many of the pets that walked in the “pawrade” were up for adoption, most of which were already vaccinated and had their adoption fees sponsored. To raise funds, there were prizes for donations, lotteries to enter and many more ways to support Joybound. Veterinarians from Joybound had a table set up and were available to answer any pet health questions free of charge. Additionally, there were booths from pet-related small businesses like dog walking, dog sitting and more. Also present were representatives from animal hospitals and pet healthcare companies. The streets were lined with dogs, many of which were dressed up, and there were plastic pools for them to cool off in throughout the hot day. A fire truck was parked on the street open for tours and there was a bouncy house, making this event perfect for kids.The main event was a pet costume contest, open for all to take part. Shelley Flores, a Junior at Las Lomas High School, attended the event with her mom and entered the competition. “Me and my mom heard about it on the Joybound page, and we decided to bring our dog to participate,” said Flores. Ultimately, a panel of judges and the crowd’s cheers decided the winners; a pair of corgis named Mindy and Gordito dressed as a hamburger and a hot dog won first place. 

One of Joybound’s programs, Shelter to Service, features therapy dogs, which were present throughout the event with their handlers. “So what we do essentially is we’ll go out to different shelters and assess shelter animals to see if they have the capacity and desire to become a psychiatric service dog…to help individuals with mental disabilities,” said a trainer for the program. Shelter to Service began in 2011, providing free adoption to U.S. military veterans, and has now expanded to therapy animals, facility animals and more. “It’s really rewarding to be able to transform the lives of not only the dogs but the people, too,” said the trainer.   Lori and David Garcia of CPR and Safety Certification had a booth for pet CPR demonstrations. “It can save a life…we really want the community to know how to at least do compression only CPR. But for animals, you can’t call 911, so you need to be your own advocate to save your dog in case they, you know, get stung by a bee, or they’re choking on something. So it’s good to learn the skill,” said Lori Garcia when asked why CPR education is so important. The Garcias have been providing CPR training to Joybound’s program. Joybound had many volunteers at the event, all of whom helped out, for example, Candy Conrad who has been volunteering with Joybound for seven years. “Our mission is to inspire and nurture the human-animal bond and bring animals and people together to enrich each other’s lives,” said Conrad. “So this event is going to help us continue what we’re doing, so we can go out and rescue more animals to help shelters that are really impacted, like from natural disasters or maybe a hoarding situation. So, this helps us keep doing that, helps us to keep giving free vaccines, low cost spay and neuter,” said Conrad. Joybound Around Town on Broadway was successful in raising money and awareness for its organization and others, while also bringing joy and fun to the Walnut Creek community. Joybound offers numerous programs and hosts various events. Visit their website to get involved and learn more. To learn more about animal CPR certification, visit CPRMARIN.com. Check out the winners of the festival’s costume contest on Instagram @apairofcorgis.