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21st Annual Bark Ball

Black-Tie…Tails Optional

The Washington Humane Society’s Bark Ball is an established Washington tradition. The formal soirée includes a renowned silent auction, a seated dinner, and live entertainment – with a unique twist that makes this a one-of-a-kind event. Guests are encouraged to bring a canine’s as their date!

As Washington's only formal evening for the “four-on-the-floor” crowd, the Bark Ball attracts some of the area’s most prominent canines and their friends. The guest list has included such luminaries as Art Buchwald, Chris Buckley, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Arch Campbell, Willard Scott, Loretta Swit, Mary Matalin and James Carville. Washington’s political pet set--Socks Clinton, Millie Bush, Leader Dole, and most recently “First Canines” Spot and Barney Bush --have all served as Honorary Pet Chairs.

This extraordinary, high-profile event garners excellent coverage from print and broadcast media. The Bark Ball has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Animal Planet,” and is consistently covered by all major local television stations (Channels 4, 5, 7 and 9). Bark Ball has appeared in the Washington Post, DC Magazine, Georgetowner, USA Today, on washingtonpost.com, in Woman’s Day, Marie Claire, and the Washingtonian magazines, and nationally in more than 30 major markets.

Past sponsors include Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group; American Airlines; Sun Trust Bank; the Fannie Mae Foundation; America Online; Riggs National Bank; Ralston Purina; Pfizer; The Washington Post; Booz Allen & Hamilton; Ernst & Young, Swissair and many more.

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