Why Bark on the Beach Is More Than a Walk
Bark on the Beach brings Animal Rescue Rhode Island’s extended family together and helps fund the work that continues long after the last paw print disappears
On Sunday, September 13, Animal Rescue Rhode Island (ARRI) will bring hundreds of dogs and their people to Narragansett Town Beach for its 15th annual Bark on the Beach.
Photo courtesy of ARRI
The one-mile walk is equal parts fundraiser, reunion, and end-of-summer celebration. More than 30 sponsors and approximately 300 dogs and their human companions are expected to attend, rain or shine.
My first Bark on the Beach was in 2022, when a group of my cousins and our dogs formed a team called The Usual Pupspects. We won Best Group Name, placed third in team fundraising, and later discovered, when ARRI’s promotional photographs appeared, that several of us had apparently been raising pet models all along.
‘The Usual Pupspects’ getting ready for our photo lineup at our first Bark on the Beach as a group in 2022. Photo by Parsley & Petal.
It was sunny, happy, and slightly chaotic: dogs of every possible size trotting along the shore, families walking together on an entire stretch of beach, gathered around a shared affection for animals.
This year, Parsley & Petal is participating as a Surf Dog sponsor, and you’re invited to join our team or make a donation in support of Animal Rescue Rhode Island.
Before the event, I spoke with Jeanine Conrady, Director of Development at ARRI, about what Bark on the Beach means to the organization, and what the public may not see after the last prizes are handed out and the beach empties.
The Work Behind the Walk
In 2025, Animal Rescue Rhode Island matched 504 pets with loving homes. Its Animal Scholars humane-education program reached more than 1,750 people of all ages throughout Rhode Island, while its Community Pet Food Pantry provided more than 80,000 pet meals to families in need.
“We never want to see someone have to surrender their pet because they can’t feed their pet,” Conrady said.
ARRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that receives no federal or state government funding. Proceeds from Bark on the Beach go directly toward caring for its animals, including food, shelter, medical treatment, and behavioral support.
“It’s through events such as the 15th annual Bark on the Beach that we’re able to fund our lifesaving work and focus on finding families for animals needing homes,” said ARRI Board Chair Marcia Izzi.
“Our mission is very simple: to protect our animals and care for the animals that walk through our doors,” Conrady said.
But the animals are not the only ones walking through those doors.
Photo courtesy of ARRI
A Community That Works All Year
Bark on the Beach may be ARRI’s most visible community celebration, but the relationships it represents continue year-round.
Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops come to the shelter and build sensory planters for the dogs, filling the boxes with interesting things for them to sniff during their walks. Company teams volunteer to clean or paint.
ARRI’s 128 dedicated weekly volunteers help walk dogs, socialize cats, and support the shelter’s other work, while more than 60 additional volunteers assist with events.
“People can come down, take a tour, learn about us, and see how they might help,” Conrady said.
ARRI has served Rhode Island since 1938, but Jeanine does not want its work, or the many ways people can participate, to remain hidden.
“We don’t want to be a kept secret in the community,” she said. “We serve not just the South County area where we are located, but the entire state.”
The organization’s principal programs include adoption, foster care, humane education, and its pet-food pantry. Its community partnerships also extend to local schools, where students learn to treat animals with respect, whether those animals are living in a shelter or in their own homes.
“We want people to know who we are, what we’re doing, how we’re partnering with the community, and how we’re partnering with schools,” Conrady said.
One Big Team
ARRI’s rescue network extends beyond Rhode Island, too.
Animals arrive at the shelter in three primary ways: through local surrenders, through partnerships with other Rhode Island shelters, and through ARRI’s Bark & Ride transport program. Bark & Ride works primarily with shelters in North and South Carolina and has helped save 4,118 pets over its 15 years of operation.
“We are all one big team when it comes to taking care of the animals,” Conrady said.
The importance of that network becomes clear in the story of her own dog, Sandy.
Sandy had been running loose in the South, evading repeated attempts to rescue her. When she was finally brought into a shelter, there was no room for her. It had nothing to do with her health, her age, or her temperament. She was scheduled to be euthanized on Monday.
She was transported north on Saturday.
“We got to save my girl,” Conrady said.
She named the dog Sandy after Rhode Island’s beaches and now creates her Bark on the Beach fundraising page in Sandy’s honor.
Transporting one animal from an overcrowded shelter can also make room for another animal still waiting for help.
“When we’re able to save an animal from a shelter in the South, we’re actually able to save two,” Conrady explained, “because we make room for another animal where there wasn’t room.”
An Extended Family
Bark on the Beach gives adopters, volunteers, supporters, families, and the animals whose lives have intersected with ARRI a chance to come together.
“At the end of the day, the reason we’re out there—and the reason an event like this is everything to us—is that it’s an opportunity for adopters and their families to come out with their dogs,” Conrady said.
Some participants walk in gratitude for the animal they adopted. Others create fundraising pages in memory of, or in honor of, a beloved pet. Still others may attend simply because they love animals and want to support the people caring for them.
As a native Rhode Islander and dog mom who spent summers in Narragansett before eventually making the town my home, I find supporting this event especially meaningful.
Photo courtesy of ARRI
“This is everything to us. This is our way of giving back after we’ve received so much,” participants have told Jeanine. “This is our family. Our dog is our family. We want to be part of this family community.”
That may be the best explanation of Bark on the Beach. It is not simply a fundraising mechanism or an unusually adorable spectacle, although 300 dogs filling a Rhode Island beach certainly qualifies as one.
It is the annual gathering of a community that works together all year.
Photo courtesy of ARRI
Join the Walk
The 15th annual Bark on the Beach takes place Sunday, September 13, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Narragansett Town Beach, 39 Boston Neck Rd., Narragansett, RI.
Online registration is open through September 10 for $40 per person. Walk-up registration is $50, and children 12 and younger attend free. Those who cannot attend can register as virtual walkers or donate directly to ARRI.
Participants can walk individually or create a team and personalize a fundraising page in honor or memory of a pet. All participating dogs must be up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
The morning will include music, food, refreshments, prizes, sponsor tables, Wag Swag Bags, and plenty of dogs. But the reason for gathering remains the same: to help ARRI continue caring for animals that need safety, compassion, and another chance.
As Conrady said, “We don’t always know their story, but we get the opportunity to tell their story and be their voice.”
Register for Bark on the Beach, participate virtually, or donate to Animal Rescue Rhode Island.
Or join the Parsley & Petal team
We’re raising funds for Animal Rescue Rhode Island through Bark on the Beach. You can register to walk with the Parsley & Petal team or make a donation directly to our team fundraiser.
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