8th Annual K-9 Krawl to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence Oct. 18

Bring your four-legged friends to the 8th Annual K-9 Krawl 5K Saturday, Oct. 18.

The K-9 Krawl was created to raise awareness for the connection between animal cruelty and domestic violence. The event also aims to highlight domestic abuse and its impact on families and communities while showing support for victims throughout October, which is observed nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).

The walk serves as a healthy way to draw attention to the issue and raise community awareness of the impact domestic violence has on the person(s) directly involved as well as the resources the community has to offer its citizens. Pets are not immune to domestic violence; in fact batterers often threaten to injure or kill their partners’ or children’s pets as acts of revenge or control, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

The Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services in the Department of Family Services provides free individual counseling to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Fairfax County.

For more information or to register for the event, call (703) 814-7009 or visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FCPD2014k9Krawl. Participants are encouraged to arrive for check-in at 8:30 a.m. and can browse the vendor tables on display before the walk begins at 9 a.m. Participants can also have a professional portrait taken with their pets followed by a Fairfax County Police Department K-9 Unit demonstration at 8:45 a.m. The walk begins at the Fairfax County Government Center (parking lot C). Free T-shirts are available for the first 100 participants who register online.

Sponsors include the Fairfax County Police Department Victim Services Section and Domestic Violence Unit, and the Fairfax County Law Enforcement Foundation with special thanks to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.