Doggie Dash and Dawdle returns to Albuquerque for first time since COVID

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the first time since COVID, the 40th annual Doggie Dash and Dawdle kicked off Sunday morning at Balloon Fiesta Park. 

The event was hosted by the New Mexico Humane Society and started off with a mile dawdle for you and your furry friend.

“We have a ‘Barketplace,’ that’s with all of our vendors, food trucks, beer garden. All of the money goes towards helping the cats and dogs in New Mexico that need a second chance like Winona here,” said Madison Hatch, manager of events and promotions for the Animal Humane Society.  

The humane society let people check-out dogs during the event in hopes some of them would find a new forever home.

“This is our rent-a-dog, we have pups such as Winona here who are pretty calm, and so she does good in environments such as this. And what you can do is you can come rent them for an hour or half an hour, and they get out of the shelter,” said Hatch. 

One woman makes the trek every year for this event all the way from Las Cruces.

“I came out here one year, a friend of mine told me about it, and I love it and I’ve done it every year since,” said Yvette Hassell, a vendor. 

Yvette loves making doggie jackets in all sizes for her four-legged friends. 

“I love dogs, I love dogs. I’ve sewed for people, for humans and everything, but I love dogs and their dog owners – they’re just great,” said Hassell. 

This was the first year the Doggie Dash and Dawdle has been held since 2019 due to COVID, and there were new canines, and human faces. 

“Honestly, I just like the community, I think it’s super cute when people bring their dogs out in public and stuff because they’re such a big part of our life,” said one newcomer. 

Some new pups came out Sunday to try to get used to being social too.

“We’re just working on socializing and it’s nerve-wracking for both of us,” said a newcomer. 

And for the first event since COVID, the humane society saw a big turnout.

“We were looking at about 1,500 people signing up and we have people with multiple dogs, we have just about that many dogs here this year, so we were pleasantly surprised by the outcome,” Hatch said. 

If you’re looking to become a vendor at a humane society event like this, visit the Doggie Dash and Dawdle website.