You may have seen a lot of people walking their dogs along Portage's Crescent Road yesterday morning.

It was the annual Pet Valu Walk For Dog Guides, raising funds to provide guide dogs to people who need them. Committee Chair Kathleen Barteaux tells us registration numbers were down a bit this year.

Kathleen Barteaux"But we do have lots of new registration this year," she says, "Which is very exciting. For this event, attracting new participants is always important. And not just for this event, but for Lions and the Lioness clubs that are supporting this event."

Barteaux notes this event's part of a national program.

"And it provides free dog guides to those with conditions that would require it," she says, "So diabetics, epileptics, folks with hearing and vision impairment. It takes $25,000 to breed and train the dogs, and then they are matched with a person free of cost."

Yesterday's event raised $2850.00, after expenses.