‘We’re overwhelmed’: Chula Vista animal shelter’s Walk a Dog Day draws hundreds of volunteers

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Kristiansen Shuzuko wasn’t planning on leaving with a new dog when she signed up for Chula Vista Animal Services’ Walk a Dog Day.

But Mocha, a 7-year-old boxer mix sporting a plaid pink sweater, stole her heart and she left the event with a new best friend. A month earlier, she’d lost her long-time dog and said she was excited to bring home her new one. Mocha’s sweet, calm energy won her over right away, Shuzuko said.

Hundreds of community members gathered for the second annual dog-walking event on Saturday, which fell in line with National Walk Your Dog Day.

“We asked the community for help last year and they came out in spades,” said Ashley Milo, the shelter’s director of animal services. The outpouring of support led shelter officials to make it an annual event, she said.

The line of people waiting eagerly to walk dogs lapped the shelter’s parking lot and stretched to the street.