The Reason For This Special Event:

Every fall since 2016, Paws4Potter has been hosting a very special event known as the "Making A Mark On K9 Cancer" dog walk in order to raise awareness for pet cancer and to raise money for the National Canine Cancer Foundation. It is Paws4Potter's biggest fundraiser each year! 1 in 3 dogs and 1 in 4 cats will develop cancer at some point in their lifetimes! By raising awareness for pet cancer, more pet parents will seek medical attention sooner for their best buddies, which may drastically improve their quality of life and survival.

While the COVID-19 pandemic created many lasting negative effects on event planning during previous years, it also sparked the creation of more virtual events. For the last five years, Paws4Potter has gratefully received significant support from pet lovers all across the country and beyond!

This year, we are continuing our tradition of hosting another annual "hybrid" event so that we can continue to include attendees from near and far:
IN-PERSON Dog Walk - Saturday, October 4th, 2025: 10AM - 2PM (Thompson Park Rotary Pavilion - Watertown, NY)
VIRTUAL Dog Walk - Saturday, September 20th, 2025 (10AM) through Saturday, October 4th, 2025 (2PM)

Paws4Potter's goal is to have participants join us from ALL 50 STATES (and as many countries as possible)!

About Paws4Potter:

Paws4Potter is a 501-c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise awareness for pet cancer, to provide people with the tools that they need to detect cancer earlier in their pets, and to help people understand that pet cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. Paws4Potter also raises money for the National Canine Cancer Foundation through fundraisers and donations.

What To Expect From The In-Person Walk:

We are getting ready to celebrate our TENTH year this year! It's really hard to imagine that we are reaching this milestone in 2025! It's crazy how time flies and stands still all at once!

If you've never attended our in-person walk, you are in for a treat:

• TWO walks to choose from: 3/4 mile and 2 miles
• Local vendors: crafts, gifts, Paws4Potter merchandise, and more
• Local and regional animal shelters/organizations
• City Dawgz of NNY: on-site food vendor
• Dog Halloween Costume Contest
• K9 Police Unit
• Freebies for all participants
• Pet Photography . . . AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

The Facebook event page (10th Annual "Making A Mark On K9 Cancer" Dog Walk) will contain ALL of the pertinent information that you will need to know about this in-person dog walk! Make sure to join that page for routine updates as the event draws closer!

What To Expect From The Virtual Walk:

In keeping with the logistics of the virtual walks from the last four years, we are extending the dates to span two full weeks (Saturday, 10/5 through Saturday, 10/19) in hopes of accommodating people's schedules! That way, if you want to walk in the middle of the week or in the evening, you can do so! And, if it's raining (but hopefully not snowing), you can walk on a different day! You can walk EVERY day if you wish!

This virtual event allows Paws4Potter supporters all across the country (and in other countries) to participate, which we are VERY excited about! We have supporters on both the west coast and the east coast, and several locations in between!

As in previous years, we will be very active on our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) throughout the two-week period of this event! We will be cheering people and their pets on, sharing photos, and having interactive contests! We don't want to lose the feeling of camaraderie that we have always had at our regular dog walks! Some of the contests that we have planned for the virtual walk will NOT be a part of the in-person event!

The Facebook page (#RunCancerRun2025 Virtual Dog Walk - Paws4Potter) will contain ALL of the pertinent information that you will need to know about this 2-week event! If you do NOT have a Facebook account, never fear! We can update you with all of the pertinent information via e-mail!

Maintaining Tradition:

As we have done for the past nine years, we will be:
- honoring and remembering those pets who have bravely fought cancer
- providing information on early pet cancer detection
- providing freebies to all of the registrants (mailed directly to virtual attendees)
- creating an "In Honor / In Memory" poster (in-person event) and video (virtually)

If you would like your cancer warrior included in our "in honor of" or "in memory of" wall at the in-person dog walk and in our online video, please e-mail Kyle Stevenson at [email protected] with their picture(s). Please let Kyle know if they are to go on the "in honor of" or "in memory of" wall.

Paws4Potter Event T-Shirts:

A link to the official event t-shirt order form is available here!

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO HELP US FUNDRAISE:

This year, we have an additional fundraising platform that participants can join to raise additional funds on behalf of walking in our event! You can create a team, join a team, or join as an individual. Friends and family members can support you locally or from afar as you raise awareness for canine cancer this year! Our goal is to raise an additional $5,000 in this manner through peer-to-peer fundraising. To create your own fundraising page, you can go here!

Rules For Attendees:

1. 1) Please make sure that all participating dogs are up to date on DHPP and Rabies vaccinations.
2. 2) Please make sure that all participating dogs are leashed while walking/running.
3. 3) It is the pet owner’s responsibility to pick up any waste produced by his/her dog(s).
4. 4) Minors (children under the age of 18 years) must be accompanied by an adult.
5. 5) We are requesting all VIRTUAL dog walk/run attendees to walk/run a minimum of 1 mile for this event. This can be done all in one day or spread out throughout the 2-week event period.
6. 6) We are requesting, if possible, that VIRTUAL attendees take a photo or some photos of their walking excursion(s) and post them on social media with the hashtag #runcancerrun2024
7. 7) Have a LOT of fun!!!  (This is the most important rule of all!)