Release The Hounds

The first annual Doggie Dash at Sullivan Park united man and its best friend to a rousing success, according to event organizer Chelsie McAllister.

"We were hoping for 25 people [to sign up]," McAllister said. "We ended up with 58 so I was happy with that."

McAllister said that organizing an event like this was in the back of her mind for the past few years, but took on a new meaning when her beloved pooch passed away in September.

Although not everyone who supported the event was able to show up and participate, McAllister said that 19 people ran in the 5K and 25 people completed the 1-mile.

"It was great, I think everybody had a smile on their face," McAllister said. "Just seeing everybody that showed up with their dogs and enjoy the time out there."

The highlight of the event to McAllister was watching all the dogs make a beeline toward a kiddie pool set up specifically for them to enjoy a nice cool down.

The event took place at the walking-running complex at Sullivan Park to garner more exposure to the facility that many people are still unfamiliar with.

With the final amount of money not completely added up yet, McAllister said a rough estimate of funds raised at the event for the Northeast Montana Pet Rescue hovers around $500.

McAllister said that all of the prizers awarded to the participants were donated by local businesses and helped keep the cost of organizing the event down.

After year one in the books, McAllister is already looking ahead to next year's event.

"Hopefully that now the word is out and we've done it, we will get a bigger turnout next year."

1-mile Race Top 10

A. Hartsock, 8:28; 2. R. Speed, 8:35; 3. S. Hartwell, 9:18; 4. A. Chapman, 10:12; 5. K. Durell 10:14; 6. T. Nyquist, 13:08; 7. K. Cusker, 13:54; 7. D. Cusker, 13:56; 8. D. Fisher, 14:40; 9. T. Hartwell, 15:57; 10. T. Nyquist 15:57.

5K Race Top 10

1. R. Flores, 19:$0; 2. T. Phillips, 19:59; 3. K. Young, 20:06; 4. R. Gutierrez, 22:06; 5. R. Wade, 22:31; 6. C. McAllister, 23:31; 7. J. Lazo, 25:51; 8. C. Hartwell, 29:58; 9. C. Flemming, 30:17; 10. M. Guttenberg, 31:20.