Animal Awareness Day Oct. 3 in Branford

Animal lovers, mark your calendar now for what's sure to be the biggest, best Pet Shield's Animal Awareness Day ever on the Branford Green on Sunday, Oct. 3.

This year, the Branford-North Branford Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter is teaming up with the Branford Compassion Club  and sponsor Pet Shield to put on a festival sure to delight party "animals" of all stripes.

From bringing in a pet communicator (who can tell what your pet's thinking and possibly connect with pets passed on) to setting up a doggie kissing booth, "We did something different this year," said Laura Burban, Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter director.

Best of all, proceeds from the day, which has grown greatly from last year's walk-a-thon, will help homeless pets.

"This year, we've combined our walk-a-thon efforts with the Compassion Club, which had done a small bake sale and Blessing of the Animals for about 10 years. We're turning it into a whole celebration," said Burban.

The Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter has been open for seven years, helping rescue, rehabilitate, and find homes for thousands of animals. The Branford Compassion Club is a non-profit, volunteer organization established in 1997 that has since saved no fewer than 2,000 cats and kittens.

The groups' combined Pet Shield's Animal Awareness Day kicks off at 11 a.m., when owners and pets can participate in a walk-a-thon stepping off from the Community House (registration required). Walkers will follow a half-mile trail to the Town Green. Walk-a-thon proceeds will be split between the animal shelter and the Compassion Club.

When everyone arrives at the Green, the celebration will be in full swing with an event raffle, entertainment by two live bands, kids' games and face painting, food and drinks for sale, and booths and tables to visit featuring animal-related vendors.

Animal Awareness Day will also feature several representatives (and their furry charges) from rescue and shelter organizations from around the state.

"They're coming so they hopefully can adopt out animals that day. We want to promote all of the different shelters in the area, not just our own," said Burban.

One of the shelters, from Terryville, burned down last year and has yet to be re-built.

"They'll be there raising money for a new shelter by selling T-shirts. When their shelter burned down, all the animals had to go into foster care, which is hard to find in this economy. It's a crisis for them," said Burban.

Also folded into the day's events is an effort to raise animal rescue awareness, with a special Rescue Dog Parade at 1 p.m., said Burban.

"It will feature different rescued breeds like greyhounds…and even [those from] a shelter like ours, with maybe a hard-to-place senior dog. We're trying to highlight all the different types of shelter dogs available for adoption," said Burban.

With special permission to allow pets on the Green, Animal Awareness Day also features the annual Blessing of the Animals at 2 p.m.

"For the Blessing, all animals are welcome," said Burban. "They've had pigs, goats, and horses blessed by all the different denominations on the Green."

Another theme of the day: Kindness to Animals, as portrayed by local elementary school kids. Prizes will be awarded at 3 p.m.

"We've asked Branford and North Branford kindergarten- through 4th graders to participate in an art contest, just to give us their take on taking care of animals. We have local businesses donating prizes for the winners," said Burban.

Animal Awareness Day's main sponsors are East Shore Veterinary Hospital of Branford and Branford residents Dan Cosgrove and Susanne Barnes. With everything that's planned, organizers are hoping for a big response, said Burban.

"Last year, we had 120 people sign up for the walk and probably between 300 to 500 people come out on the hottest day of the summer. We're hoping to get a thousand people…We would love for people to come and hopefully find an animal that day to take home or to learn about the other shelters and rescues that maybe people don't know about."

Pet Shield's Animal Awareness Day is Sunday, Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Branford Green. For Walk-a-thon registration information and more, visit www.branfordanimalshelter.org.