Pull for Puppies Dog Walk and Pet Festival

Hundreds of dog owners and pet lovers descended on CityCentre on Saturday for the 2019 Pull for Puppies Dog Walk and Pet Festival. 

The event kicked off at 9 a.m. with a Dog Walk and Parade around CityCentre. Pull for Puppies cofounder David Sung estimates that at least 200 people participated in the dog walk, while plenty of spectators lined the plaza to cheer on participants. Throughout the morning, attendees visited vendor booths, mingled with new furry friends and watched the event programming including “Texas’ Largest Rock, Paper Scissors Tournament” as well as the headlining event: The Tug-of-War Tournament. 

Pull for Puppies is a fundraising sports event series that David cofounded with his friend Hien Khuu in Dallas about five years ago. The idea behind it, David said, is to help pet shelters that don’t necessarily have the manpower to put on large events or fundraisers. At each event, Pull for Puppies partners with a local animal shelter. Pull for Puppies manages the event planning and marketing, and they split the event earnings with the shelter. 

Eight coed teams participated in the 2019 Tug-of-War tournament. The coed winners were from BONA Fitness.  (Photo: Pooja Salhotra) 

“We act as an outside marketing arm for the agency,” said David, who, in addition to working at Pull for Puppies, has a full-time marketing job.

At each event, participants pay a one-time payment of $30 to gain entry to all of the events. The event also raises money through sponsorships — Reliant was the title sponsor at Saturday’s event — as well as through vendors who pay a fee to set up a booth at the event. 

At CityCentre, Pull for Puppies partnered with Friends for Life Animal Shelter in Houston, who was onsite with some of their puppies available for adoption.