Copio with a neighbor's Airedale

Runners, walkers, dog lovers, animal advocates and those who just want to celebrate spring are invited to the second annual “Pawz Too Run” event on Saturday,  April 14 on the Village Green in downtown Davidson.

The event, spearheaded by Cannon School ninth grader Joanna Copio, will benefit the local not-for-profit Friends of the Animals, whose mission is to promote responsible pet ownership, provide low cost spay/neuter services and promote adoption of homeless pets.

In its second year, year Joanna accepted a challenge from her middle school principal to demonstrate leadership and make a difference in her community. Thus Pawz Too Run was born.

“We’re making Pawz Too Run bigger and better this year,” said Copio. “We’ve added a 10K race and are increasing the presence of rescues and shelters. We hope to have adoptions during the event and would like to have some of the shelter dogs compete in the dog walk. We’ll have a vendor fair and information and educational materials about the proper care of companion animals and to promote responsible pet ownership.

The money our community raises through Pawz Too Run will help the Friends of the Animals building fund, which is ear-marked for a new facility where our community can adopt homeless pets and learn about how to care for them,” continued Copio.

Friends of the Animal’s goal is to build a state-of-the art animal adoption and education center with a spay/neuter clinic located at Exit 31 and I-77 in Mooresville.

Pawz Too Run will kick off at 8 a.m. with 5K and 10K races. Dog owners are also invited to participate in a dog walk beginning at 8:30 a.m.