Hamlet goes to the dogs at third annual Walk N’ Wag event

HAMLET — The city of Hamlet welcomed its four-legged friends on Main Street for the fourth annual Walk N’ Wag.

The event raised money for Operation Fix and included fun pet activities like a costume contest, pup cup carts and paw print painting. Dogs of all shapes and sizes came out with their owners to enjoy the day and support a good cause.

“Thank you for being here today. We’re very glad to have the fourth annual Walk N’ Wag. I see some of the same people I’ve seen for four years now. We’re having this event for Operation Fix and the animal shelter and we are just very thankful that we have both operations here in Richmond County. We couldn’t say enough good things about both of them and controlling our animal population and helping adopt out dogs and cats— they’re just both great and very worthwhile operations here in Richmond County,” said Amy Guinn, mayor of Hamlet.

Operation Fix, previously known as Richmond County Animal Advocates, is a nonprofit led by Allison Story. The group works to rescue animals from kill shelters, helps families in need with pet food and offers low-cost spay and neuter services. Since 2018, they have helped more than 900 animals in Richmond County.

The Richmond County Animal Shelter was also at the event with dogs looking for new homes. Visitors could meet some adoptable pups and maybe even find a furever friend.

People had several ways to lend a helping paw, including shopping from local vendors, giving donations or bringing pet supplies.

“If you don’t have a pet, the animal shelter can hook you up. They have dogs here, they have cats at the center. They can set you up to come meet and adopt. Please help them find homes for the babies. We want to thank Operation Fix because they have personally come in and helped here on this property with feral cats. They keep showing up, Allision comes in, sets up traps, traps them, gets them fixed and releases them somewhere so they can live without reproducing,” said Mechelle Preslar, Hamlet’s director of community engagement.

Preslar also led the walk down Main Street, giving people and their pets the chance to enjoy the area.

“It’s just so you can see the businesses. Some may be open, some may not, but we’ll just walk up Main Street and walk back,” she said.

Once the walk ended, the pet costume contest took place. Chippy the chocolate lab came in third, Magnolia the Chi-weenie took second and Roscoe the Frenchie won first place.