DUBLIN -- Dalmatians and guinea pigs and owls, oh my.

A smorgasbord of fluffy, furry and feathered friends gathered Saturday at Randolph Park in Dublin for the Wag'n Tails Road Rally, sponsored by Siberian Husky Assist Rescue president Marcia Horne.

The event -- organized with hopes of increasing public awareness of the region's many animal welfare organizations, and promoting human and animal health and safety -- brought together people and pets from all corners of Southwest Virginia.

Horne's huskies, including her sled dog team, were joined by volunteers and foster animals from the New River Valley chapter of Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue, Basset Rescue of Old Dominion, Wildlife Care Alliance, Star City Greyhound Adoptions Inc., Cave Spring Piggie Rescue, the Dublin Fire Department, the Angels of Assisi spay and neuter van and many others.

"There are plenty of ways you can save lives, pets or people, or help out volunteering with any kind of group," said Horne, whose rescue is based in Bristol. "There are things that people will see and hear at this event that they never thought of."

Although many attendees were drawn by good weather and the opportunity to interact with the animals, representatives from the organizations used the public's curiosity as an opportunity to increase their visibility and bolster volunteer recruitment.

Cpl. Todd Hayes with the Dublin Police Department hoped that the families who met Clea, an explosives detection dog with the department's K-9 unit, would learn that police dogs aren't vicious animals.

Clea can detect up to nine materials used to create explosives and has a sweet disposition. Only the Czech commands that Hayes uses to urge her into attack and detection mode can trigger her aggression.

Hayes and officer Marshall Dowdy, who brought narcotics detection dog Lobo, gave a special demonstration of the dogs' attack capabilities.

"They can bite like a bear," Dowdy said. "But they can come back five minutes later and be loving on you."

Suzie Baker, a Blacksburg volunteer with Basset Rescue of Old Dominion, came to the event with her basset hound, Freya. Baker, who rescues the dogs from local animal shelters, said that BROOD has only two volunteers in the New River Valley and is in dire need of more foster and adoptive homes.

Wildlife Care Alliance rehabber and Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic technician Allyson Lee said that even those who aren't thrilled about getting personal with animals can still help.

As she held Clapper, a 20-year-old great horned owl with arthritic legs, Lee said that the alliance welcomes volunteers to help out with public relations or secretarial work.

Vicki Knight, a fellow technician at the Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic, said that she founded the Cave Spring Piggie Rescue two years ago as a kind of joke. Now, she is dedicated to educating the public about the proper care of the animals.

"They really need to be a family pet," Knight said, referring to the frequency of parents buying guinea pigs for their young children as presents. She said knowledge of proper diet, bedding and vitamin C intake for the guinea pigs is crucial.

Volunteer Kelly Vickers explained that guinea pigs "have a personality, and a lot of it, too," as she held "ambassador pigs" Elvis and Priscilla.

The rescue currently has four pigs in foster care, including Oscar, whose name is a nod to the trash bin in which he was found abandoned, still inside his cage.

The Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue group was represented by New River Valley volunteer Mary Ellen Jones, who joined the organization in 2002 after getting her sheltie, Darwin. Jones said that she was hoping to inform the public about the need for more people to help transport various breeds of dogs across what she calls "the great black hole of I-81," due to the lack of local animal welfare volunteers.

"We are an underground railroad or bucket brigade of rescue," she said.

As she made a donation to watch Darwin show off his "dunking" trick, attendee Lisa Barker, who brought her nephew's puppy, Viper, said she didn't know that there were so many local animal welfare groups.

"I think it's neat. They should make this an annual thing," Barker said of the rally.

Neil Dubner, whose wife, Jule, is a board member and volunteer for the Dalmatian Rescue of Southwest Virginia, said that Saturday's turnout pointed to better rescue opportunities for the animals in need of homes and support in the New River Valley.

"This should be the model event," Neil Dubner said.

Want more information?

Here’s how you can contact some of the organizations that participated in the Wag’n Tails Road Rally:

Siberian Husky Assist Rescue: (276) 466-9856, siberianhuskyassist.com

Angels of Assisi: 344-8707,angelsofassisi.org

Basset Rescue of Old Dominion: 808-8053, bassetrescue@vt.edu, brood-va.org

Cave Spring Piggie Rescue: 334-2765, petfinder.com/shelters/VA326.html

Dalmatian Rescue of Southwest Virginia: dalmatianrescue-va.com

Dublin Police Department K-9 Unit: mdowdy@dublinpd.org

Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue: 465-5936, nvsr.org

Star City Greyhound Adoptions Inc.: 309-8067 or 387-9641, starcitygreyhounds.org

Wildlife Care Alliance: 587-4007, wildlifecarealliance.org