Help animals find homes now by supporting dog royalty in the River City

Campaigns, crowns + canines

The Carnegie Carnival season in Decatur lasts a few months, with restaurants and event venues throughout town hosting a series of special events—mostly fundraisers by candidates and krewes competing to be crowned as the season’s royals.

It all leads up to a day of activities and parades on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday.

So what is all this fundraising for? In a nutshell:

• Carnegie Carnival began in 2012 as a fundraiser for its founding organization, the Carnegie Visual Arts Center.
• As the season has grown over the years, other nonprofits + causes have benefited, too.
• Today, 14 local krewes raise funds, rallying support from friends, family + local businesses through raffles, silent auctions + events.
• High school teens running for prince and princess titles run fundraising campaigns, splitting raised funds with the arts center + Court Appointed Special Advocates of North Alabama.
• Crewes compete to name their chosen king + queen.
• The royal court also holds space for two canine honorees every year: Sir Bow Wow + Lady Barks a Lot.

In 2024, the Carnegie designated Decatur Animal Services’ adoption program as a carnival partner and shared beneficiary of its canine royalty candidates, along with the season’s other pet-focused events.

“We chose to partner with DAS because of their unwavering passion for serving our community. They are dedicated to finding homes and providing medical care for animals in need. Over the past two years, we’ve witnessed their staff and volunteers work tirelessly to help animals overcome challenges and celebrate the joy of each happy family welcoming a new pet!”
_{Alison Belcher, Carnegie Visual Arts Center Marketing & Education Coordinator}

For the animals: $20K+, 200+ pets placed + more

Animal Services Manager Brian Lundberg reported that in just two years, the impact has been huge, with over $20,000 raised—and that’s not counting this year’s efforts. That money has translated to:

🤗 Fee-waived or reduced adoption events 2X annually during peak spring + late summer months to combat overcrowding
🏡 More than 200 animals placed in homes (of the approximately 1,300 placed annually)
🏥 Increasing some emergency medical care beyond basics they could not afford otherwise, including treatments for heartworms + broken limbs

The help from these events and other charitable donations goes a long way at a critical time, Lundberg added:

“Getting support from local agencies and programs in some ways is becoming a necessity for many animal shelters. As costs of living rise and housing options for pet owners dwindle, along with other factors, encouraging people to adopt is harder in some ways than it was years ago. Not only do these factors reduce adoptions, it increases shelter occupancy. In turn, this increases the strain on small shelter staffs, and the ability to house happy healthy animals gets more challenging.

It’s crucial that we keep the wheel spinning. Each animal that finds a home today is more space and time that we can allow for another animal in need to have tomorrow. We have a great city, staff and volunteers propelling our mission no doubt, but having such great support like the Carnegie Visual Arts Center helps us tremendously in being able to be better caretakers for our animals.”
_{Brian Lundberg, Decatur Animal Services Manager}

2026 Canine royalty candidates

As folks meet the candidates throughout the season at community events, most agree they all deserve a crown, as do their people.

👑 For Sir Bow Wow

• Balto Burgett
• Trinket Wojtek Stewart
• Tucker Sedlak

👑 For Lady Barks-A-Lot:

• Bella Lassiter
• Lily Howard

👆 Link to candidate pages to see their upcoming events + 🗳️ cast votes for candidates here.

Doggy fashion show this Sunday

The annual Strut Your Paws Doggy Fashion Show is set for this Sunday, Feb. 1 and invites pet owners to dream up their most stylish and playful outfits, walk the runway and compete for titles and prizes.

🎀 Strut Your Paws Doggy Fashion Show

• Where: The Princess Theatre, 112 2nd Ave NE, Decatur, AL 35601
• When: Doors 1:30PM | Show 2PM
• Cost: $30 to register | $12 to attend
• More info

Get the pack together for the parade

Carnegie Carnival Parade Day falls on Saturday, Feb. 14, and features the Carnegie Canines Costume Contest and Parade, which starts at the Alabama Center for the Arts and loops through downtown.

⚜️ Carnegie Canines on Parade

• Where: Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Ave NE, Decatur, AL 35601
• When: Registration at 1PM | Judging at 2PM | Costume contest winners + Royalty winners announced at 2:15PM | Parade immediately after winner announcements
• More info