Two events to help L.A. pets on Sunday, Sept. 27

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This Sunday, Sept. 27, is a big day for animal lovers looking to make a difference in the lives of needy Southern California pets. Two area rescue organizations, the Pasadena Humane Society and Dawg Squad Pet Rescue, both hold their major fundraising events of the year (and if you’re really ambitious, you could even make them both).

First up is the Pasadena Humane Society’s 11th annual Wiggle Waggle Walk and Family Fun Fair, which benefits the homeless pets cared for by the private, nonprofit animal care agency. (The organization recently did yeoman’s duty, suspending its normal shelter operations to become a 24-hour emergency center for pets and wildlife displaced by the Station wildfire. At the height of the fire, more than 370 extra animals were being cared for by shelter staff -- and all that cost money, adding an additional level of importance to Sunday’s fundraiser.) Organizers hope to raise more than $300,000 during the event, which runs from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Funds will go toward housing, feeding and providing veterinary care for the nearly 12,000 animals taken in by the humane society every year.

The Wiggle Waggle Walk runs something like a cancer walk, with walkers and their dogs gathering pledges in exchange for walking either a short (just under a mile) or long (approximately 3.2 miles) course at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. Organizers request that canine participants are well-socialized and kept on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Registration for the Wiggle Waggle Walk begins at 8 a.m., with the walk starting at 9.

The Family Fun Fair is to begin immediately after the walk’s conclusion and features a pet talent contest, a cutest mutt contest (no purebreds allowed), a doggie fashion show, pet-themed vendors and demonstrations of flyball, agility and K-9 police work. Contest registration ends at 10 a.m., and we’re told that space is limited, so those wishing to enter are encouraged to arrive early. Admission is free for both the Wiggle Waggle Walk and the Family Fun Fair, but walk participants are encouraged to make a donation to the Pasadena Humane Society or gather donations from friends, family and coworkers. For more information or directions to the Wiggle Waggle Walk and Family Fun Fair, visit the Pasadena Humane Society’s website or e-mail events@phsspca.org.

Next on the agenda is Dawg Squad Pet Rescue’s annual Bowling for Collars event, which starts at 1 p.m. at AMF Mar Vista Lanes (12125 Venice Blvd. in West Los Angeles) and runs until 3 p.m. The event features (naturally) bowling, as well as prizes, complementary food and beverages, and an auction of items such as a vacation in Cabo San Lucas. Proceeds from the event will pay for food, medical care and rehabilitation costs for needy dogs in the L.A. area -- and the Dawg Squad takes in some of the very neediest, including large, powerful dogs often considered hard-to-place, like pit bulls and Rottweilers. (For examples of the group’s great work, look no further than Perri the pit bull puppy, who was pulled from an L.A. city shelter suffering from demodectic mange -- she’s available for adoption now -- and Jeffrey the Rottweiler, who was fully grown at the time of his rescue but so malnourished that he weighed only 45 pounds. After extensive rehabilitation and medical care from the Dawg Squad, he is now a happy, 80-pound dog in a new, permanent home.)

Tickets to Bowling for Collars are $25 for an individual bowler or $100 for a bowling lane, which includes shoe rental and two games each for up to five bowlers. Children are welcome (but unfortunately, dogs must stay at home). For more information and to purchase tickets, check out Dawg Squad’s website.

-- Lindsay Barnett