Hear Yea Hear Yea! King Yogi, Queen Lillie, Prince Domino and Princess Lily are requesting your presence at the 13th Annual CAAWS Mystic Krewe of Mutts Mardi Gras Dog Parade on Sunday January 29.

This annual event is the largest fund-raiser for the Capital Area Animal Welfare Society (CAAWS) and all profits go directly to support our community spay/neuter fund.  Established in 1979, CAAWS is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to the prevention of animal suffering in the Baton Rouge area. Please help us make a difference and prevent animal suffering.  CAAWS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Registration fees and donations are tax-deductible but non-refundable.

Here is a list of the days activities

10:00 am  - 4:00 pm - Bark in the Park

10:00 am - Parade-day registration begins

12:00 pm - Costume contest begins promptly at NOON

1:30 pm - The parade rolls down North Blvd. between Fifth Street and Ninth Street

For more information please visit our website at http://www.caaws.org.

The Baton Rouge Kennel Club and the Alexandria (LA) Kennel Club are pleased to announce that the Mardi Gras Cluster all-breed dog show will return to the Rapides Coliseum, 5600 Coliseum Blvd., in Alexandria for the second consecutive year.  The show will run from Thursday, Jan. 26 thru Sunday, Jan. 29.  Judging will begin each morning at 8 a.m. More than 160 of the 173 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club will be in attendance to vie for the coveted Best In Show title. 

The two clubs will also be welcoming six new breeds recently recognized by the AKC (Finnish Lapphund, American English Coonhound, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Norwegian Lundehund, Xoloitzcuintli, and Cesky Terrier).

Admission each day is free, but due to space limitations, no strollers will be allowed in the building and only dogs registered for the shows will be admitted.  In addition to all the dogs, there will be several vendors available if you want to purchase something for your best friend.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to see some of the dogs that will be appearing at the Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City.

Adopting an animal is a big decision, and selecting the right kind of animal and right breed is very important! Retired racing greyhounds make wonderful pets. Learning about what a greyhound's life was like during his career is extremely important because it will help you understand his behavior.

Greyhound puppies are born on a farm where they begin the early stages of training. They are raised with their littermates and sometimes stay with them through training and on into their racing career. Greyhounds are constantly handled by people and as a result, greyhound puppies become very well socialized from a very early age. This is one of the reasons retired racing greyhounds make such wonderful pets.

At between 12 and 18 months old, the greyhound puppies have had all of their necessary training and are ready to go to the track and become a race dog. While they are racing, they are kept on a tight routine, which is why they prefer to live in a scheduled home environment. Racing greyhounds generally retire at about two to four years old from various things. The most common reasons include lack of interest in competing, injury, loss of interest, and age.