This past weekend, Prost Brewing Co. collaborated with Bounce Animal Rescue to put on the event “Puppy. Yoga. Beer.” Participants woke up early Sunday morning to join other dog lovers in an all-levels yoga class where puppies roamed free and aided yogi’s on their downward dog. Afterwards, yoga-goers were provided with a free beer and got to hang out with their new fuzzy friends. Add some biking and this morning could have perhaps been the most Fort Collins-esque mornings of all time.

The event took place at Prost Brewing Co., a relatively new taproom nestled behind Illegal Pete’s in one of Fort Collins’ charming alleyways. This the brewery’s second location, with the first location based in Denver.

Anneliese Clark, is the Northern Colorado regional director for Bounce Animal Rescue, a non-profit animal rescue that is “dedicated to improving the well-being of unwanted animals through quality veterinary care, proper nutrition, spay/neuter programs, training and adoptions.” She said Prost Brewing Co. was eager to make the event happen after getting in touch with Omkai Yoga, who previously hosted a Bounce yoga event, and everything fell right into place.

“I think it’s really cool because all the proceeds from the yoga event went to our animal rescue,” Clark said. “And every little bit counts. Even having the community get together and have some beers and play with some puppies. We want to make our name known to the community because it’s so important to choose adoption and donate to non-profits.”

The event ended up being so successful, in fact, that tickets sold out completely.
Each attendee paid $20 to participate in the yoga class with the dogs that started a 10 a.m. Afterwards, participants who were 21 and up enjoyed a free Prost Brewing Co. beer and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the brewery opened its doors to anyone who wanted to come meet the adoptable puppies.

The stars of the event were a litter of six boarder collie mix six-week-old puppies who liked to nibble on fingers, chase each other on yoga mats and fall asleep in human arms. The puppies were rescued from Oklahoma where kill shelters are prominent, and euthanasia is usually done via gas chamber. Clark said although gas chambers for euthanizing shelter animals is legal and dubbed humane in the U.S., it usually takes dogs a few days inside the chamber to pass away. The Bounce organization pulled them from this process and passed them on to Pilots n Paws, another non-profit organization made up of volunteer pilots who help rescue dog transportation. A pilot going to Denver from Oklahoma volunteered to take the litter to Centennial Airport where Bounce picked them up and sent the fuzzy babies into foster care.

CSU alum Jordan Hamlett attended both the yoga class and the meet and greet afterwards.

“The rescue was so good about placing the puppies in case they were getting distracted and making sure everyone got time with them,” Hamlett said. “It’s the best. I just posted on Instagram, ‘Five minutes of yoga, 45 minutes of puppy.’ If you get a puppy, definitely go for rescues.”

Omkai Yoga posted on the event’s Facebook page to assure that those who missed out on this weekend’s event should look towards the future.

“We are in the planning stages of a few future events so be on the lookout,” said Omkai Yoga on Facebook. “Be sure to follow OmKai Yoga for event dates and details!”

The puppies that attended the event will be officially available to be adopted in two weeks. During this time, applicants are encouraged to fill out the paperwork to adopt the dogs. To help foster, donate, volunteer or adopt, Bounce Animal Rescue can be contacted at www.bounceanimalrescue.org or on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/bounceanimalrescue.

Collegian reporter Miranda Moses can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @mirandasrad.