On a beautiful, sunny afternoon, the Clay County Humane Society hosted its 14th annual Hogs For Dogs fundraiser last Saturday.

The charity motorcycle ride beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Orange Park Adamec Harley-Davidson and ended with a fish fry dinner at Whitey’s Fish Camp on Fleming Island. This year’s ride was a big success, according to Linda Lake, Board Member of the Clay Humane Society and Chair of Hogs For Dogs.

One reason was it attracted more than 100 riders who came in full force to support the cause of supporting and relieving the suffering of animals in North Florida.

“It was wonderful. We had the perfect day. We had a lot of new and returning riders, a lot of whom have ridden since we first started (in 2010),” Lake said.

Included in the fun for a $30 ticket was a high-quality gift bag chock-full of various goodies, a red, white and blue dice roll awarding a cash prize to the highest and lowest scorer, and the giveaway of various items like gift cards from local restaurants and hardware stores and other favorites, such as knives and fishing poles.

All of this was done with one mission in mind – to support furry friends.

“It’s all about the animals, of course. That’s why we do our run,” Lake said.

To all participants at Hogs for Dogs, it seems as they were touched by the feel-good vibes cultivated by the fundraiser that goes on to support a great cause in the community.

“It was a festival-like atmosphere from beginning to end. It was very upbeat. A lot of positivity and laughter. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel good to be there. People feel good on the inside for doing their part to help Clay Humane and to help animals,” she said.

The big-ticket ride took riders on a pilgrimage from Orange Park to Fleming Island, and it covered a major portion of the county and featured four stops at local favorite watering holes and restaurants along the way: Crossroads Saloon, Howlin’ Wolf, Watering Hole at Smith Lake and Saloon 17.

Hogs for Dogs is one of the two major annual fundraisers that goes on to support the local nonprofit that offers low-cost or free medical services like spraying and neutering, weekly urgent care on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5-12 p.m. via a low-cost veterinary clinic and other important programming such as animal advocacy and pet-assisted therapy.

To find out more about the nonprofit, please visit ClayHumane.org.