{"id":163913,"date":"2026-02-21T16:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T16:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/163913\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T16:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T16:27:13","slug":"vca-walk-for-the-animals-returns-to-fort-lauderdale-to-support-humane-society-of-broward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/163913\/","title":{"rendered":"VCA Walk for the Animals returns to Fort Lauderdale to support Humane Society of Broward"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 From wagging tails to happy barks, there was no shortage of personality along Las Olas Boulevard as hundreds gathered for the 36th annual VCA Walk for the Animals on Saturday morning. <\/a><\/p>\n

The one-mile fundraiser supports the Humane Society of Broward County and the care it provides year-round.<\/p>\n

The event took place from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Las Olas Intracoastal Promenade Park, at 80 Las Olas Circle, in Fort Lauderdale. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun. We have four monsters. It\u2019s fun,\u201d one participant said with a laugh while walking her dogs.<\/p>\n

Local 10 animal advocate Jacey Birch, who has hosted the walk for about 15 years, joined the crowd with her Chihuahua Peewee in a harness. <\/p>\n

Birch said the walk is her favorite event of the year. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe walk just wrapped up. We do have thousands if you include the humans and the dogs. 150 volunteers made this event happen today. We have 35 sponsors,\u201d she said. ” I\u2019ve had the privilege of hosting this event for about the last 15 years. We love when we can get the animals together and raise money for such a great cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to HSBC\u2019s event website<\/a>, the walk had already surpassed the organizations\u2019s $535,000 goal, raising $569,831.20 as of 11 a.m., or 106% of its target. <\/p>\n

Birch also encouraged donations to her personal walk page.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I\u2019m going to the stage and we\u2019re going to pass out awards and we\u2019re going to keep this party going,\u201d she said. \u201cWe still have time because my goal is $5,000 and it\u2019s now past the $1,700 mark, up $1,000 this morning since we first showed you at 8 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds turn out in Fort Lauderdale for VCA Walk for the Animals. Here’s how you can help From wagging tails to happy barks, there was no shortage of personality along Las Olas Boulevard as hundreds gathered for the 36th annual Walk for the Animals. <\/p>\n

Cherie Wachter<\/a>, vice president of marketing for the Humane Society of Broward County, said the funds help cover programs such as pet loss and grieving sessions, behavior classes, food, medical care, and daily operations for animals at the shelter. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the money raised from this event helps fund those programs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s poster dog, Bobby, is living proof of the event\u2019s mission. His owner adopted him from a rural shelter, saving him from euthanasia. Last year, the pair raised $1,000 during the walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very empathetic, and he\u2019s very calm. And he just loves everybody. He loves every dog and every person! The humane society gave me the opportunity to meet the love of my life,\u201d said Donald Orloski, a Broward Humane Society volunteer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very exciting. Bobby had a modeling and photography session,\u201d Orloski added.<\/p>\n

Now the face of this year\u2019s event, Bobby is helping inspire others to give back \u2014 one step at a time. Organizers said no matter the size of the dog or the distance walked, every step helps support animals in need.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more information on how you could donate to a great cause or adopt a furry friend. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 From wagging tails to happy barks, there was no shortage of personality along Las…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-163913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}