Bark in the Park returns to Animas Park with Doggie Dash, adoptions

Free dog fun, adoption opportunities and vendor booths will fill Animas Park when Bark in the Park returns on Saturday, April 25, in Farmington. The day starts with Doggie Dash at 10 a.m. and continues from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., giving pet owners a low-cost way to spend the morning while supporting the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter.

Doggie Dash will cover an approximately 2-mile loop in the park, and pre-registration runs through April 18 at 5 p.m. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m., and T-shirts must be picked up at registration between 8:30 and 9:45 a.m. Shirts also will be available for sale once Bark in the Park begins, making the race itself part walk, part fundraiser and part community gathering.

The event also puts the shelter’s adoption work front and center. The Farmington Regional Animal Shelter is an open-admissions municipal shelter run by the City of Farmington and contracted with San Juan County. Adoption fees include spay or neuter, the first set of vaccines except rabies, and microchipping, details that turn a single adoption visit into a package of basic preventive care.

The shelter is located at 133 Browning Parkway in Farmington, and the event gives residents a chance to connect with staff, see available animals and learn more about the shelter’s daily role in the county. The Regional Animal Shelter Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, helps support that work through outreach and fundraising, and proceeds from Bark in the Park will benefit the shelter through the foundation.

Vendors also will be part of the day, with setup scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and registration due by the end of the business day on April 19. Amber Francisco is listed as the contact for vendor questions at (505) 599-8386. The city’s annual promotion of Bark in the Park shows how the event has settled in as a recurring spring tradition in Farmington, but its practical value is what stands out most now: a free public event that brings adoption services, fundraising and pet owners into one place at Animas Park.