Best Friends Animal Society’s annual Strut Your Mutt event is back with a virtual fundraiser that allows pet lovers across the country to raise funds for their favorite local shelter, rescue, or animal welfare organization. Last year’s event raised more than $1.5 million.

The 2021 Strut Your Mutt Day will take place on Saturday and, although this is primarily a virtual event, many Best Friends Network Partners across the country have planned in-person, outdoor walks.  Those interested in having their animal participate in Strut Your Mutt can go to the Facebook accounts of any of the involved organizations. They will be walking in a number of parks along the Wasatch Front.

Another simple way to maximize Strut Your Mutt lifesaving efforts is to utilize ResQwalk, a free mobile app that lets people support their favorite animal welfare organization just by getting out and moving. This year, ResQWalk is integrated with Strut Your Mutt, so people can now track their ResQWalks and mileage inside your fundraising center.

Joe Gatto, star of Impractical Jokers and The Misery Index, is the official Strut Your Mutt spokesperson this year, along with his nine rescue dogs  featured in his book “The Dogfather.”

“I can’t imagine my life without rescue dogs and recognize how many animals there are out there who still need our help. I couldn’t be more excited to support the good people at Best Friends Animal Society and have some fun at this incredible event,” Gatto said.

Walkers can register for free at http://strutyourmutt.org to join Strut Your Mutt as individuals or members of a team. The event is not just limited to dogs and the people who love them. Many cat organizations have also benefitted from the program. The website provides innovative, interactive fundraising tools for walkers to share on social media and raise funds for the animal welfare group of their choice.

Participants can also follow the fun on the Strut Your Mutt Facebook page. The fun starts at 7 a.m. MST with a welcome from Gatto, followed by participants from across the country at 9 a.m., Best Costume and Best Kisser contests at 11 a.m., highlights and awards at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and a special closing by Gatto at 3:15 p.m.

“Best Friends is so grateful to Joe for helping raise awareness and funds for Strut Your Mutt. The last year has been incredibly difficult for shelters and animal welfare organizations, so funds are needed now more than ever to empower this important, lifesaving work,” said Holly Sizemore, chief mission officer for Best Friends Animal Society.

Utah Valley Animal Rescue is highly involved with the event and takes a lot of animals from North Utah Valley Animal Shelter and the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter and provides support for the young kittens they receive.

In Utah, the local shelters and rescue organizations that will receive funds include:

• CAWS (Community Animal Welfare Society)
• Herding Haven
• Nuzzles and Co
• RSQ Dogs
• Salt Lake County Animal Services
• Second Chance for Homeless Pets
• Utah Animal Advocacy

While the majority of these organizations are based in Salt Lake County, their work with animals extends beyond the county lines.

Newsletter