Event raises money, donations for local dog shelters

Jul. 24—The Southern Roots Team hosted the first BarkStock event at Generations Park to raise money and donations for local dog shelters Saturday afternoon.

"BarkStock is just a way for us here at the southern roots team to give back to our community," said Josh Campos, the team leader of Southern Roots.

Campos and his team member, Eddie Fulghum, said Southern Roots is rooted in giving back to the community whenever they can. Because many shelters don't have enough funding or supplies, the team thought it was important to hold this event.

The team collected pet toys, food, treats, cleaning supplies, towels and blankets, collars, leashes and water bowls. Southern Roots gave the donations to the SPCA Albrecht Center and the Aiken County Animal Shelter.

"There's a very strong dog community in Aiken, so this is just a way for us to help our local shelters," Campos said.

BarkStock featured food vendors, music and family activities available for participants and was free to the public. Chase Brannen, owner and dog trainer for Dominion Dog Training, was set up with his pups at the event.

Brannen was contacted by Fulghum and was excited to meet new people in the Aiken area and get his new business more exposure. Brannen offers dog training through board and train programs and private lessons and also sells puppies from time to time.

This was the first edition of the event with more planned in the years to come. Southern Roots teamed up with Keller Williams Reality along with other local Aiken businesses to help fund the event, said Campos.

"We've been working on this from the beginning of the year and they couldn't have done it without the community," Campos said.