Animals in Story County need homes – and this weekend, jogging a dog could help find those homes.

On Sunday, the ISU Canine Club will sponsor a Dog Jog, a one-mile jaunt around the veterinary school, located at South 16th Street in Ames.

The cost of registration is $18 with a T-shirt or $9 without. All proceeds will go to the Story County Animal Shelter in Nevada.

J.C. Elbert, sophomore in veterinary medicine, said there will be an obstacle course for dogs, a sheep herding demonstration, a pet-owner look alike contest and a costume contest.

“We have awesome door prizes,” she said. “[The event will take place] as long as the weather is good – only rain would cancel it.”

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the jog begins at 9:30 a.m. Elbert said she hopes “more than 100 show up, because it will be such a fun family event, but we will be happy with 100.”

Elbert said walking is permitted as well. The event is not “restricted to people who are runners,” she said.

“You don’t have to have a dog,” Elbert said. “You can make a donation.”

Jen Shackett, vice president of the Canine Club, said the club has donated money to the Ames Animal Shelter in the past. They are donating to the Story County Shelter this year, because it doesn’t get funding from a city, said Shackett, sophomore in veterinary medicine.

Sue McCaskey, Story County Animal Control director, said the shelter is operating on a tight budget.

“We are trying to sustain the current budget and keep a zero-percent increase, but costs continue to rise,” she said. “We are trying to provide the same amount of service with less.”

Proceeds from the Dog Jog enable the shelter to do things for the animals that are above and beyond the shelter’s normal capacities, McCaskey said. She gave the example of helping dogs with heartworms that could be wonderful family dogs.

“A friend tells a friend, and that’s what makes an organization like ours run,” McCaskey said. “Every dog but one is spoken for right now, and that’s amazing.”

She said the money helps the shelter pay for surgery on cats or dogs that have been hit by cars. McCaskey said these animals otherwise may have been put through euthanasia, but they often are adopted after healing.

There has been a “tremendous amount of volunteers from fraternities and sororities” because of Homecoming Week and community-service projects, McCaskey said. Volunteers can do a variety of things for the animals, such as walking, bathing, brushing or playing with them, she said.

“The Dog Jog is so much fun for people to watch, like something you see on TV. It’s not a run-of-the-mill activity,” McCaskey said. “It is a good way to socialize dogs and a good way to contribute.”