Residents of Lake Prince Woods, Suffolk citizens and furry friends gathered at Lake Prince Woods retirement community on Saturday morning for the first 4 PAWS 5K and One Mile Fun Run and Walk fundraiser.

The Suffolk Humane Society partnered with Lake Prince Woods and RunTime Races for the event.

“It lets people know who we are,” said Carri Shallcross, Suffolk Humane Society volunteer. “They get an interaction with us and get to buy some of our merchandise.”

Lake Prince Woods was happy to partner with the humane society, because the two already have a good relationship.

“We started with a 5K for our foundation, and then we decided to partner with the community. So, we reached out to the community, and we decided to ask the humane society,” said Lake Prince Woods Director of Residence Services Denise Brown.

“They’ve been good partners with providing us with volunteers,” said Suffolk Humane Society Executive Director Glenn McCloskey. “We are right down the road from them, and they are a pet-friendly community.”

Plenty of residents of the senior community participated in the fun run, not only to be active but also to prove that they could. They even had residents as old as 91 participating.

“I like to help the humane society, and I like to walk,” said Helen Riley, 91.

Riley also regularly walks around the Lake Prince Woods neighborhood.

She was one of a few residents that participated in the walk.

Both Gail Sankey, 87, and Jan Hates 73, walked in the fun run because they support the Humane Society.

Sankey, Hates and Riley finished the walk in under 15 minutes.

The walk and 5K helped raised money for both organizations.

Proceeds will go towards the humane society’s community assistance program, a first-come, first-served fund that helps people pay for their pets’ necessary medical treatments.

The fundraiser will also help the Lake Prince Woods “Grant a Dream” program, a fund that provides memorable experiences to senior residents.