The Mower County Humane Society’s annual Walk for the Animals is back for its 20th year this Sunday.

The event begins with registration at 1 p.m. with the walk beginning at 2 p.m. People wishing to take part in the walk should register at the gazebo next to Mill Pond and the Austin Municipal Pool.

This is one of two big fundraisers the MCHS holds each year, which includes the annual pasta dinner and live auction. Last year the event raised $10,600.

“It is a very successful fundraiser in the past,” said MCHS volunteer Kelly Rush. “Between that and the pasta dinner, we break even on the money we raise.”

Because the MCHS is completely volunteer based, 100 percent of money raised goes toward operations for the organization, which includes several different facets.

“One hundred percent of the money goes toward the pets,” Rush said. “We have the animals spayed and neutered, blood tests, de-fleaing and de-worming is all done. The money is also used to pay utilities.”

The walk, while helping to raise money for the MCHS, also serves as an opportunity to get some pets possibly adopted, even though the event usually involves dogs more than cats.

“The other side is it’s also a meet-and-greet for the dogs we have available,” Rush said. “They get the chance to meet them when it’s not so structured. We get to see the dogs around the people.”

The event also serves as a sort of family reunion.

“It’s a big umpha for the people who work with the pets and see the gets that have graduated,” Rush said.

The funds from the walk are especially important to the MCHS’s work simply because of the numbers involved. Rush said the humane society currently has 147 cats and 28 dogs housed at the shelter.

But that number also extends to the work the humane society does with the city pound.

“A lot of people do not realize the humane society does with working with the city of Austin,” Rush said. “The come from the point and go to the vet clinic either to rescue or euthanize them, and we do that if the animal is so sick its suffering. But we rescue nearly 90 percent of them.”

“It’s a win-win for our city,” she added.

MNSNAP returns to Austin

The Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program will be making another stop at the Mower County Humane Society on Nov. 10.

The portable clinic, housed in an RV, travels the state providing high end but low cost spay and neutering for pet owners. It’s intended to help keep feral cat and dog numbers down.

To register, visit www.mnsnap.org and click on the link “Register Your Pet.”