Starkville Derby helps raise money for the local humane society

The world’s largest wiener dog race has become a popular event. However, the event is more than just a race. It also raises money for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The world’s largest sausage dog race has become a popular event.

Now in its second year, the Starkville Derby has a bigger crowd than ever.

Founder Alden Thornhill said the event came out of a need for a spring event in Starkville.

“Starkville moved the spring festival to the fall and we didn’t have any good spring events outside of baseball anymore, so I said, you know what, let’s see what we can do. College towns thrive on eclectic events like this, so I said, you know what, let’s get this all going and make something different happen and see what it turned out to be,” Thornhill said.

However, the event is more than just a race. It also raises money for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.

Meg Handran is a board member of the Humane Society. She said fundraising is important to them.

“The fundraising goes directly to helping the more than 5,000 animals that come through our doors each year and it goes towards their healthcare, their reimbursement for their microchips and food and caring for them until we can find them a home,” said Handran.

Fundraising is all-out for the shelter animals, which means they spend a lot of time raising money.

That’s where the Starkville Derby comes into the picture.

Fellow board member and president Rick Welch said this event helped them in their efforts.

“Fifty percent of our operating budget depends on donations. So Alden approached us last year to do this and we raised about $20,000. This year the crowd is probably 4 or 5 times bigger than last year, so hopefully we’ll raise a lot more money, which will help us a lot because a lot of our efforts every year are spent on fundraising just to get the shelter open ” said Welch.

The theme of this year’s derby was Star Wars, which coincided with Star Wars Day on May 4.