ST. LOUIS — One of the Humane Society of Missouri’s largest fundraisers was shut down midway because of the strong storms that pushed through St. Louis on Saturday morning.
The 27th Annual Bark in the Park, which was supposed to run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., returned to Forest Park after two years due to the pandemic.
After a 5K and a field full of owners strolled through with their pets for a festival, event director Shana Cook and her crew decided to pull the plug on the event.
A big animal rescue trailer stood near Cricket Field with many puppies and small dogs up for adoption.
Organizers anticipated at least 1,000 dogs to come out for the fundraiser.
"We're really disappointed but our customers, our guests, our animals, all the dogs that were here, their safety is our priority and we saw that it was getting pretty dicey," Cook said.
Cook explained that Bark in the Park typically reels in $200,000 per year and they would see a good bit of loss due to the abrupt cancellation.
She added that most of the participants had registered before the event.
“We'll go through the finances next week, but it'll be interesting to see how we did," she said.
The money benefits the organization's Animal Cruelty Task Force.
The task force is an investigative team that responds to animal abuse and neglect calls around the clock in St. Louis and all of Missouri.
The organization plans to host the event again next year.
People can still donate to Bark in the Park online and look for other events coming up this summer.
The Humane Society always has pets available for adoption. You can visit The Humane Society of Missouri's website to learn more about upcoming events and see the pets available for adoption.