Paws for a Cause is this Saturday
Fun for families and their dogs will be on tap this Saturday, April 27, as the annual Paws for a Cause Pet Expo takes place at the Carden Farm Dog Park in Clinton.
The event, at 410 Riverview Drive in South Clinton, will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will include vendors and activities, including a pet costume contest, an agility course for dogs, K-9 demonstrations, kids’ games and crafts, food trucks and more.
Organizers say they are expecting thousands of people to attend the event. There is no admission charge.
There will also be animal shelters and rescue groups on hand with adoptable pets and low-cost vaccinations and microchips available for all.
Led by the city of Clinton, the key sponsor is the Anderson County Animal Rescue Foundation.
Proceeds from the event will be used to help “animals in need from our community,” the sponsor said. That includes veterinary care, pet food and other forms of aid.
More than 60 vendors have signed up for the pet expo.
The dog park in South Clinton opened in November 2021 off Carden Farm Road, on land along the Clinch River that the city obtained from the Tennessee Valley Authority more than two decades ago.
It includes fenced areas of about three acres for large dogs and two acres for small dogs. A road was built leading into the paved parking lot at the park’s entrance.
The dog park sits on a 17-acre tract the city got in a trade from TVA, and was mostly paid for by a $25,000 grant from the Randy Boyd Foundation in Knoxville.
There is a Kentucky split-rail fence around the dog park, which includes a common area at the entrance that gives access to the separate areas for large and small dogs.
There are water fountains for people and dogs just outside the entrance, along with a water faucet people can use to wash their dogs if they get too dirty in the park.
Each of the doggie areas has a small shelter with benches and sheet-metal roofs for shade, and some trees were planted for natural shade.
Walking trails go around the entire 17 acres, and have a connector to the dog park area, city officials said. Part of the trail follows the riverbank.
There are two benches for the dog park that were donated by the city’s 4-H clubs, which did a bottle-cap project that resulted in them getting the benches, made of recycled plastic, from a company in Indiana.