PHOENIX — Hiking with a dog ‑ what’s not to love! The public is invited to enjoy an easy hike every first Saturday of the month where participants can meet a canine hiking buddy and adopt during the popular Wag N’ Walk events.
The program kicks off Saturday, Oct. 5, and runs through March taking advantage of cooler weather and allowing shelter dogs the chance to enjoy it, too.
Partnering with Maricopa County Parks and Recreation, volunteers bring dogs from Maricopa County Animal Shelter’s East Valley Animal Care Center to Usery Mountain Regional Park, 3939 N. Usery Pass Road, Mesa. Hikers (canine and human) meet at the park’s Merkle Trail for an easy one-mile, barrier-free hike. The program features dogs that would make great active companions and provides hikers the chance to meet and see the dogs outside of the shelter environment.
All dogs come to the hikes with their adoption paperwork to allow for on-site adoptions should hikers fall in love with a new furry hiking companion. Hikers meet at the trail the first Saturday of every month at 8:45am to begin hiking at 9 a.m. There is a $7 per car park entry fee for the general public.
Please bring water, closed-toe shoes, and an open heart for a new best friend.
The agencies encourage people to consider adopting a shelter dog. While there are several benefits to shelter adoptions, taking a dog out of the shelter environment and giving it a home where it otherwise would not have had one, is the greatest benefit of them all.
Usery Mountain Regional Park
2019 Program Schedule (Meet in Area 6):
Oct. 5 – 9 to 10:30 am
Nov. 2 - 9 to 10:30 am
Dec. 7 – 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Jan. 4 – 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Feb. 1 – 9 to 10:30 a.m.
March 7 – 9 to 10:30 a.m.
For more information and to see adoptable animals visit www.maricopa.gov/pets or any of MCACC’s two shelter locations:
West Valley Care Center: 2500 S. 27th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85009
East Valley Care Center: 2630 E. Rio Salado Parkway Mesa, AZ 85201