Tacos, Diet Coke, pumpkins — these are not just edible items, but some of the costumes worn by dogs of all shapes and sizes at the American Cancer Society’s fundraiser “Bark for Life.”
Held at the Canyon Country Community Center on Saturday, and organized by the members from the Santa Clarita Valley chapter, dogs dressed in various costumes, bobbed for bones and enjoyed entertainment — including a human barking contest.
Event coordinators Brad Peach and Loren Burghout discussed the need to celebrate canine companions.
“The main event we do every year is Relay for Life in May. Dogs are not permitted, and there are several reasons — some people are still under treatment, and they have allergies. But the American Cancer Society recognizes how important dogs are as caregivers in the healing process,” Peach said. “We have this event in October, and we decided to make it a big Halloween carnival celebrating our best friends.”
The chapter has been putting on this event for about 25 years, but has seen more and more growth each year.
“We get more vendors that want to come in here and help out. We get more volunteers. We get more teams. Just like at Relay for Life, we also have teams that are here fundraising, and we’re hoping to raise about $12,000 to go towards Relay for Life today,” Peach said. “One thing we will never do is turn down a donation. When somebody is willing to raise money for us, then by all means, you’re welcome to do that.”
According to Peach, the event took approximately five months to put together.
“We have a wonderful committee that’s been involved with us the entire time, and they work very, very hard. We just have a good time,” Peach said.
“Our theme is Halloween, that’s why we do this at this time of year because it’s right before Halloween. Bring your dogs out, dress them up. We have costume contests throughout the day for the dogs and the people with the best combination. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s all about celebrating dogs — anything we can do to celebrate,” Burghout added.
Peach and Burghout have both spent decades volunteering, inspired by their own personal circumstances.
“I’ve been involved for 28 years, and I got involved because my mother was a breast cancer survivor, and after her and my dad got involved with Relay for Life, I got heavily involved with that. Subsequently, she passed away from cancer, and I lost several family members,” Peach said.
“I knew Brad from the Canyon Theatre Guild, and when my mother went through breast cancer, I was one of her caregivers and it was very stressful. I’m not trained, and I needed some backup, so they got me involved with Relay for Life, which recognizes caregivers and gives them a support system. That helped me get through it, and I stayed. It’s been 25 years,” Burghout said.
Despite the years of supporting the organization, both Peach and Burghout are seeing the benefits of early detection as the years go on.
“We’re working so hard to cure cancer, but we’re getting more and more people that have cancer, and there’s a big reason for that and that reason is early detection. People that didn’t have any idea that they’ve had cancer carry it because most cancers are not symptomatic until it’s too late. So with the screenings that we have available now, people are able to get screened and diagnosed before the symptoms arrive. The cure and curability rate is just enormous,” Peach said.
“With the way the American Cancer Society works, they’re pushing and pushing for earlier screenings. For men, it used to be 50 to have prostate screening. Now it’s 40. We’ve heard about people that have had prostate cancer in their 20s and 30s. The earlier you can get the screening done, the earlier the detection, the better your chance,” Burghout added. “[Relay for Life] is a wonderful thing. Come and have fun, and that’s that. That’s the one rule we have. You’ve got to have fun.”
With attendee Lauren Henderson dressed as Wilma Flintstone from “The Flintstones,” it’s only fitting that her 2-year-old dog, Jasper, would be dressed as Dino.
“I’m here because we have a lot of family members who went through cancer. My grandma on my dad’s side had it, and a couple of my aunts had it. My aunt actually passed away a couple of years ago. It was her second time fighting — she fought for a couple of years. She was the strongest person I knew, and she was such a role model. I think it’s important to come back and help out any way I could and support any way I can,” Henderson said.
Coming to support the cause, Henderson was also inspired to dress up with Jasper since he’s “cute in anything.”
“Since I got him, he’s loved dinosaur toys. I’m also a preschool teacher, so my kids were talking about the Flintstones right now and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s perfect.’ My kids gave me the inspiration,” Henderson said. “I think people should, even if they don’t have a dog, they should come out and experience this event because it’s something amazing to witness and help out. All the booths here are also so generous with what they’ll give your dog, in addition to information.”
For more information on the American Cancer Society, visit: www.cancer.org.
