Are We There Yet?: Gone To The Dogs

"Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz once wrote five very wise words: “Happiness is a warm puppy.” 

This Saturday, May 3, dogs take center stage at both ends of Berkshire County. 

First, in Williamstown, the annual Humane Race to benefit the Berkshire Humane Society starts at 10 a.m. on Water Street. Rain or shine (unfortunately, it's looking like rain, and no one ever said happiness is a wet puppy), this 12th annual 5K Fun Run and One Mile Walk - with or without your dog - will offer a day of outdoor entertainment for the entire family.  The race begins at 10 a.m., with check-in and race day registration starting at 8 a.m. Finish line festivities will include music, games, prizes and food booths. Race Day Registration is $20 for adults and $15 for children. To learn more about the event, visit www.humanerace.org.

Then, later in the day, people can come to the Mason Library in Great Barrington from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. to meet Jori, the Great Barrington police dog, and his officer, Tim Ullrich. Jori will do a sniffing demonstration, and show his knowledge of signals and commands. Jori, a German shepherd from Slovakia, became the town’s first K-9 officer in 2011. His arrival was truly a community affair: to bring Jori to town, the department raised $30,000 from 26 donors to pay for veterinary bills, retrofitting of one of the police vehicles and setting up a donation account to cover future costs.

If you're looking for something to do with the kids on Sunday, May 4, head to Dalton for the annual Dalton CRA May Day Race & Obstacles and Popsicles for Kids. A 5K and 10K race start at 9:30 a.m., but the fun for kids starts at 10:30 a.m. The race happens behind Nessacus Middle School; the kids do not go on any roads. Those 8 and under will run half a mile and those 9 to 12 will run a mile. The races include fun obstacles and all finishers get a ribbon and freeze pop; awards will be given to the top three boys and girls in each age group. The cost is $6.

And as we are winding down to the end of the school year, I wanted to share a link to a funny blog I read online about how the last few weeks of school feel for parents. Read it here and I hope you laugh as much as I did!

Rebecca Dravis is the community editor at iBerkshires. She can be reached at rdravis@iberkshires.com.