Best Friends is asking animal lovers in New York and Los Angeles to once again come out with their rescue pooches for the second annual Strut Your Mutt walks. Participants have been hard at work, raising money to support Best Friends’ mission for a time of No More Homeless Pets. Here’s a look at some of the teams walking for the Best Friends Dog Pack.

Sasha’s Saviors team captain Hania Schwartz (to the right) learned about Best Friends through the show “DogTown.” After every episode, she would scan the Best Friends site for dogs to adopt, but would resist because she didn’t think she had the time to care for a dog. Eventually, she convinced herself that she could make it work and looked for local dogs to adopt near her home.  Eventually she found Sasha, a beagle/spaniel mix, who was found pregnant on the street in Virginia. When Hania brought Sasha home, it was clear she had had a rough past and was scared of her own shadow. Hania made the commitment to spend the whole summer socializing her and bringing out her personality. Today, Sasha is a social butterfly.

While Hania, would love to adopt as many rescue dogs as possible, space and resources won’t allow it, so she has named the team in Sasha’s honor instead. This two-person team has already raised over $1,145 for Best Friends, so are close to their $1,500 goal. You can donate to help them raise more here. 

The Donnas team is led by team captain Margot Lockridge. Margot has been part of the rescue community in Los Angeles for many years and has participated in protests against pet stores that sell puppy mill puppies. Their team name was inspired by an 80s dating musical group. They stuck with this theme and even named their latest rescue dog Donald. While Margot has never been out to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, she thinks that a trip there would be a dream come true and appreciates the opportunity to support the organization from afar. You can donate to support The Donnas here. 

The team Rubicon Renegades is made up of a group of participants representing the technology startup The Rubicon Project in Santa Monica, California. The office culture of the Rubicon Project is very pet-friendly and the company takes pleasure in supporting local charities. Team captain John Hautzinger initially learned about Best Friends from the television show “DogTown.” When he received an email from his friend Robin Harmon asking for volunteers at a mobile adoption event, he decided to take the opportunity to help. He was handed a small Chihuahua puppy who was recovering from a bad case of demodectic mange and decided to foster her. That foster quickly turned into a forever home and became a regular Best Friends Los Angeles volunteer. You can donate to support the Rubicon Renegades here. 

Team Derek Hough — "The Houghaholics" is made up of a group of Derek Hough (to the right) fans who have chosen to raise funds in his honor. The “Dancing with the Stars” celebrity is a vocal advocate of animal rescue and regularly volunteers his time to work with shelter dogs. Team captain Lydia Lane has done a lot of volunteer work with Best Friends, local animal rescues and local animal shelters in Los Angeles. She finds Best Friends to be the best and most prominent organization out there in regard to stepping up the challenge of finding realistic solutions to the pet overpopulation crisis and the plight of homeless pets. None of the team members have been out to visit the sanctuary in Utah, but Lydia hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the Houghaholics taking a field trip there in the future. You can donate to support Team Derek Hough — “The Houghaholics” here.

There is still time to donate to any of these teams or to sign up to strut with your mutt in New York or Los Angeles. Not in one of these cities? You can sign up for our virtual walk, Strut Across America to raise funds for Best Friends or your favorite No More Homeless Pets Network partner.

Photos courtesy of the Strut Your Mutt website