By AVINASH PUSHPARAJ, freshman

ON JUNE 8, the JP Stevens JPawS Club hosted the Doggie Derby event which brought together the community of pets and pet lovers.

“This is the second year that this event is being held. JPawS tries to raise animal awareness and that’s one of the purposes for this event.” said Mrs. Jurgrau, the club advisor.

Although Doggie Derby began last year, it has grown into a larger and more successful event. JPawS has organized Doggie Derby to be a non-profit event, sticking to their goal of trying to raise animal awareness. The $5 entrance fee collected at this event was donated to animal shelters.

Some popular activities at Doggie Derby included volleyball and face painting, provided by members of JPawS. There was also a game station consisting of three games: “Ball Toss,” “Bowling,” and “Ring Toss,” which awarded prizes to the winners, including bracelets with dog paws. Moreover, there was a photo booth section which many families used to take pictures of themselves with their pets.

“This is one of our major events. It’s an adorable event for the dogs to get active and it’s a way for the community to come together with their pets. Both the dogs and the people in attendance get the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities.” said sophomore Tanvi Shrivastava.

Lastly, the most exciting and entertaining part of the event was the agility course for the dogs. This course consisted of numerous obstacles that the dogs had to get through in order to cross the finish line. The final stage of the course was for the dog to stand on a blue pedestal.

“I liked the diversity that brought the community together and made it a unique experience. Seeing our hard work pay off in the end was very rewarding and I’m glad that we were able to help out shelters.” said junior Emily Huang, the event coordinator.

Overall, everyone had a wonderful experience at this event, mingling with other families, petting other dogs, and participating in the activities.