A fundraiser hosted last weekend by Flancer’s Gourmet Grub was off the leash, as mutts ran amok—or mostly just ran—in Gilbert, Arizona’s Riparian Preserve.
The 1st annual Waggle 5K Run raised more than $25,000 for four area charities, with humans and their dogs (who actually were wearing leashes, to be honest) hitting the trail Saturday morning. The charities included Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, Jewish Family & Children’s Services—Max Flancer Fund, Warfighter Sports and Friends for Life Animal Rescue.
“We had a great turnout, and lots of happy dogs and dog owners participated in this fun and charitable event,” owner Jeff Flance says. “We like big mutts, we cannot deny!”
Participants received a logoed event T-shirt, a Flancer’s breakfast burrito, and a Waggle hands-free dog leash for their four-legged friends. In addition to medals for first, second and third place in the race, awards were also given out for Best Dressed Pet and Best Dressed Human.
Silent auction items included two floor-seat tickets to a Phoenix Suns basketball game; four mid-ice tickets (five rows behind the home team bench) to an Arizona Coyotes hockey game; six club-level tickets to an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game (with free parking passes); a handmade quilt; and a dinner party for up to 10 people with a longtime Flancer’s server.
