Walk & Wag for One Health

🎉 Event Overview

Louisiana One Health in Action is excited to announce the 5th annual Walk & Wag for One Health 5K Race, 3k Fun Run, and One Health Fair. The event will be held at The Grove at Heritage Square in Sulphur on October 26, 2024 in celebration of the International One Health Day. It will be Fall themed! The 5K will be a timed competitive race for people only, and the 3k Fun Run will be open to both people and their dogs to celebrate One Health Day together! It is an effort to highlight the human/animal bond and to raise awareness of One Health - the interrelationship of Human, Animal, and Environmental Health. In addition to the 5K race and 3K fun run, the day will be filled with a variety of ways to have fun and learn about One Health while celebrating the human and animal bond.

🐾 Fun Zones

Participants will have fun learning about One Health and One Health topics at the Kids Zone, Dog Zone, and Educational Zone.

• Kids Zone: Inflatable activity, animal face painting, hands-on educational activities, pansy planting, and a variety of other fun activities.
• Dog Zone: Smooch Your Pooch photo booth, best dog trick contest, and best dog costume contest. Meet Dr Dog's therapy dogs and check out the sweet dogs available for adoption that day!
• Educational Zone: Covering various One Health topics presented by local medical professionals, veterinarians, and public health advocates.
• Door Prizes: Quizzes from the educational zone will be submitted for door prize drawings.

💉 Health and Safety

LifeShare will also be set up for a blood drive this day! All blood donations supply our local hospitals right here in SWLA! Learn about the blood bank for dogs as well to see if your dog qualifies to make a donation (handled through Gill Bright, but serves SWLA Vet Clinics).

🐕 Dog Rules - Know Before You Go!

Walk & Wag for One Health is open to humans running/walking with or without dogs. To keep everyone (and every dog) safe, special rules apply for those running with a dog. We strongly suggest that both the owner and dog train for this event, if you are planning on running.

• One Dog: Limit one (1) dog per person. Dogs must be at least 6 months old.
• Behavior: Only bring dogs that are well-behaved around other dogs and people.
• Vaccination: Proof of rabies vaccination required. (Current rabies tag on collar is sufficient.)
• Heat: Female dogs that are in any stage of heat are prohibited.

📝 Registration Information

• $35 Registration: 8/21 - 10/7 (Includes cost of shirt)
• $40 Late Registration: 10/8 - 10/26 (does not include cost of shirt)
• $45 Walk Up Registration: (day of event) 10/26

🌐 Virtual Participation

Can't make it in person? Select our virtual race and raise awareness of One Health right in your own neighborhood!

🔬 Research Funding

All proceeds from this event will go toward funding Bartonella Research at NCSU Intracellular Pathogen lab under the direction of Dr Ed Breitschwerdt, DVM. Find out more about The Bartonella Project.

❓ Learn More

What is Bartonella? Bartonella infection (Bartonellosis, aka Cat Scratch Disease) is one of the most important untold medical stories. Bartonella is a bacteria, but few people know about it. New methods for diagnosing it are showing it’s more common than previously thought. Animals are the primary reservoir and the bacteria is transmitted by an animal bite or scratch, fleas, ticks, lice, mites, biting flies, and even spiders.