NATCHEZ &8212; Saturday, the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society held its 14th annual Bark in the Park at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians to help raise funds for the humane society shelter and help raise awareness about the importance of adopting pets.

&8220;It is so wonderful to see all the folks out here with their dogs, but it means a lot when we get to see the dogs people have adopted from the shelter and given a good home,&8221; Board Secretary Linda Harper said.

Eddie Ray and Tracy Henry adopted Patch, a mixed breed, from the shelter two years ago as a Valentine&8217;s Day gift to their girls, Hadley and Mary Kathryn.

&8220;We bought him for their first dog and he is perfect for them,&8221; Eddie Ray said. &8220;He is so gentle around them and will play all day long with them.&8221;

Chad Dees adopted a Catahoula Cur named Sadie from the shelter four years ago, but decided to give her to Misty Tuccio and her husband Guy when Chad&8217;s work took him away, Dees said.

&8220;I&8217;m not going to give Sadie back to Chad,&8221; Misty said with a smile. &8220;She&8217;s just too sweet.&8221;

Misty said although she has never volunteered for the shelter, she attends Bark in the Park every year to donate money and give her support.

Cox said the event is a great way to maintain the shelter but more importantly, the money helps keep dogs alive.

&8220;We house close to 3,000 dogs a year at the shelter and can&8217;t really afford to keep that many,&8221; Cox said. &8220;About half of the animals that come in will have to be put to sleep because we can&8217;t find enough homes for them and we just keep getting so many.&8221;

&8220;It&8217;s an emotional, gut-wrenching job for our volunteers, but it keeps us going when we see people who adopted our dogs and bring them out here,&8221; Cox said.

Harper said 299 people attended this year&8217;s event and 160 entered their dogs in the contests.

&8220;We&8217;ve had higher turnouts in the past but we couldn&8217;t be happier with all the peoples&8217; involvement this year,&8221; Harper said.