PORT ANGELES — If dogs are man’s best friend, Port Angeles dads had a Father’s Day date with their best friends, large and small, at the Dennis Wilcox Pooch & Papa Walk and 5k walk/run on the waterfront trail Sunday morning.
About 38 dogs were registered for the late morning walk, a fundraiser for Pink-Up Port Angeles, and led participants from Hollywood Beach near City Pier along the waterfront trail, to Francis Street Park, and back to their starting point.
Jesse Zenonian of Port Angeles walked with his daughter, River, 12, and their 9-month-old dog, Felony.
“When she’s good, we call her Miss Demeanor,” Zenonian said of the boxer pup.
A 6-year-old yellow Labrador retriever named Cooper barked his enthusiasm at the starting line.
His owner, Gailin Hester, 55, of Sequim, said Cooper had been a patient of Wilcox, the now-retired Port Angeles veterinarian who founded the fundraising walk.
Other walkers included Sequim’s K-9 Officer Mike Hill and his police dog, Chase, who was there with Port Angeles Detective Kori Malone, who said she was walking Chase’s “little sister,” a French bulldog named Riley.
A group of groomers from Westside Grooming — Teresa Adams, Ryan Adams and Michelle Johnson, all of Port Angeles — arrived at the race with Belle the bloodhound, Olive the pug mix and Cali, a chow puppy.
All of the dogs at the event were given treats, toys and pink bandannas, while their human companions got black or pink “Pink-Up” T-shirts.
“It’s a really good turnout,” said Lynn Fraser, a Soroptimist member and volunteer at the event, for which the amount of money raised was not available by late Sunday afternoon.
The weeklong campaign is a fundraiser for Operation Uplift, a Port Angeles-based group that provides education, information, support meetings, a 24-hour phone line, free clinics, prostheses and wigs for both women and men with all types of cancer.
The first Pink Up event was Friday, as the Soroptimist International of Port Angeles raised about $800 at a bake sale at Swain’s, said the Soroptimists’ Debbie Hinds.
A breast health clinic at OMC MRI Digital Imaging Center took place Saturday.
Upcoming Pink-Up events this week include:
— Pink Out the Pier, 5 p.m. Wednesday. The event includes pink cookies, cancer information and Zoomba & Fitness exhibit
— Pink Take Over of the Chestnut Cottage, 5 p.m. Thursda. This is an all-you can eat spaghetti feed with local celebrity waiters/waitresses.
— Pink Up Golf Tournament, noon Friday at Peninsula Golf Club
— Pink Up Finale dinner at Crab House, 6 p.m. Saturday, featuring silent and live auctions.
— De-Pinking Port Angeles, 9 a.m. Sunday. Meet at Cornerhouse for breakfast and meeting.
For more information about Pink Up Port Angeles, go to www.pinkuppa.com.
For more information about the Soroptimists International of Port Angeles (Noon Club), visit www.sipawa.org.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
