Antlion Audio is a dog owning company.

Nah, let me start over. Antlion Audio is a dog partnering company. We treat out pups better than we treat ourselves.

So, when I spotted the Strutt your Mutt event in Portland I knew we had to bring our volunteer crew out. What could be better than a day in the sun with dogs?!

Elishaya and Athena

Then they told me they needed help with setup day, and no dogs would be present. Well, at least the sun was out! We were more than happy to pitch in for this great cause, even if there weren’t any pups to play with.

 

Setting up the signs, mistakes were made. Nobody died. That's a victory in our book!

While our staff may differ in a pretty wide variety of beliefs, we universally agree that no dog should be left in a shelter that can be found a home, and that no shelter should be a prison while they wait for adoption. My dog Puma, for example, was rescued from a kill shelter in California and brought to an Oregon adoption center. We didn’t know it at the time we adopted her, and that was not the reason we took her in, it was those big brown eyes, but I certainly thank whomever was responsible for this act of mercy.

Puma - How could you say no to those eyes? Also I really need to replace our carpet.

This was a great opportunity for us to give back a little to help our furry friends. With the help of our setup and the hard work of 79 volunteers at the event, we raised nearly $41,000 at the time I am writing this, as well as awareness of dog health, safety, adoption options, and more.

James' dog Remy actively protests taking a walk. Those are two peas in a pod.

Helping animals doesn’t end with a one day event though. Your local animal shelter is almost always in need of volunteers, so take a couple hours a week to give an animal in need some play time, even if you can’t be their forever friend.

You can learn more about Bestfriends.org at their website, but here's their mission statement:

"More than 4,100 dogs and cats are killed every day in shelters, just because they don’t have safe places to call home. We are determined to get that number to zero by the year 2025. Working collaboratively with shelters, rescue groups, other organizations and you, we will end the killing and Save Them All. Strut Your Mutt is a fun and easy way to raise money and help save the lives of homeless pets in your community. For many network partners, the money raised during Strut Your Mutt makes up their funding for the entire year. In 2017, 300 Best Friends Network partners raised nearly $2 million through Strut Your Mutt. This year, we're on track to raise $2,400,000!"

We'd like to thank Best Friends for letting us pitch in, have fun, and help out. They have events all over the US, so check their site for the Strutt Your Mutt event nearest you!

The Dream Team, from left to right, Elishaya, Austin, Emily, and James

And finally, here's one more picture of Puma, because she's my favorite girl (just don't tell my wife or daughter).

Such a hard life...