pets

There's a big weekend for critters and causes coming up, so mark your calendars if you're in the mood to run with pups, pet ponies and drink wine for social justice.

Saturday Aug. 23 kicks off with Meet a Mustang at Avalon Stables in Cottage Grove.

Strawberry Mountain Mustangs will bring rescued wild horses for adoption and wild horse owners from around the Willamette Valley will bring their mustangs to be petted and ridden. There will be a mustang gentling demonstration, a raffle and information on a adopting a wild horse from the BLM. With the BLM's threat this summer to begin euthanizing "excess" horses, the animals who have been taken off the range need homes now more than ever. The free event runs from 11 am to 3pm at 80143 Hazelton Rd. Cottage Grove. Call Melanie at 484-6751 or email bluefairypress@yahoo.com for more information.

Once you're done petting and saving the ponies, head on over to the Civil Liberties Defense Center's wine bottling and benefit at 5 pm at RainSong Vineyard in Cheshire. Transportation provided and reservations are required. RSVPs are required. Contact kristy@cldc.org or at 687-9180.

Sunday Aug. 23 you're going to want to work off all that wine, so you have three doggie events to choose from.

From 8 am til noon you can romp with Rover at Greenhill Humane Society's 15th Annual Rover Romp..

It's a 5k doggie run or 2k walk and you can register online at www.green-hill.org

The event is at 88530 Green Hill Road.

If that's not enough pups and running for you, then dash on over to Alton Baker Park where Save the Pets is hosting a 5k dog run and featuring adoptable pets.

Registration starts at 9 am and the run is at 11 am. You can register online at http://www.stpevents.info/index.php?pr=Paws_for_a_Cause_Dog_Walk

Bring your own pup to run with, shop for retail items and get a rabies tag and license from Lane County Animal Services. The entry fee is $15 in advance and $20 the day of the run.

If you're lucky, you'll get to meet Helmsley the Weather Dog.

AND WAIT — THAT'S NOT ALL!

If you and your dog are swimmers, not runners, then you and your pup can go jump in Tamarack Wellness Center's saltwater pool. Starting at 11 am on Sunday, it's Tamarack Wellness Center's Dog Swim.

Dogs and their people will swim in groups of six, and afterwards you can check out some Doga (doggie yoga) and get a dogwash from the Campfire Girls. Go to 3575 Donald Street to take the plunge and call Pat at 683-7506 for more information.

And in case you're worried about fleas and dog hair, the dog swim takes place right before Tamarack's big pool cleaning, so the pool will be Fido-Free when classes and regular human swims resume.

In honor of our upcoming "Pets" issue and because I've been a little, um, remiss, in blogging lately I thought I'd post some recent dog news.

1. Nude sunbather attacks Chihuahuas.

2. Dog lovers protested a Verizon Wireless ad featuring chained pit bulls attacking and Verizon has pulled the ad.

Finally, do you think your dog is cuter than this?

If so, send a copy of a photo of your cutest or best dressed dogs (or any other pet) to pets@eugeneweekly.com If you happen to have an ugly pet, send that one in too, for the ugliest pet contest. All photos due by Monday, Aug. 18.

PARTAY!

OK, we got two things going on for our first "Companion Animals" (or "Pets" or "Beasts and their Buddies" — if you have a good idea for what to call this thing, please tell us) special issue, coming out August 23.

1. PETS PERSONALS! You gives us a picture and some words, oh, and I think some money (but we editorial types stay away from those details; email pets@eugeneweekly.com or call 484-0519 and ask for Geneva for more info), and we prints the pic on a special pets personal page.

2. Is your companion animal the cutest in the world? How about the ugliest? Submit your photos to pets@eugeneweekly.com by 5 pm on Monday, Aug. 20, to find out.