Great Bayou Teche Dog Paddle is Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Great Bayou Teche Dog Paddle, Saturday, May 10, will be an eight-mile trip by kayak, canoe or paddle board from Breaux Bridge to Parks.

This is the third year for the event, which is a fund-raiser for St. Martin Parish Animal Services, the local animal shelter.

Unlike other events produced by Tour du Teche, Inc., the Dog Paddle is not a race but an opportunity to treat Man’s Best Friend to a leisurely cruise down scenic Bayou Teche.

Bringing dogs along is encouraged but not required. No cats allowed for obvious reasons.

Entry is $40 per adult, $25 for paddlers age 17 and under. (Dogs free.) Participants get special moisture-wicking performance T-shirts memorializing the experience.

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. in Parc des Ponts in Breaux Bridge. There are entrances to the park from Bridge Street and North Main Street. The cruise ends at Cecile Rousseau Poché Memorial Park in Parks.

Boats can be rented from Bayou Teche Experience in Breaux Bridge, info@bayoutecheexperience.com, (337) 366-0337, and Pack and Paddle in Lafayette, info@packpaddle.com, (337) 232-0337,

Bayou Teche is an historic waterway through Cajun country that was plied by dugout canoes, pirogues and steamboats before the advent of railroads and highways.

Races on Bayou Teche include Tour du Teche, a 135-mile, three-day marathon the entire length of Bayou Teche starting the first Friday of October; Petite Tour du Teche, buoy races for youths in Breaux Bridge Aug. 2 and 3 this year; and Top of the Teche, a 7.5-mile race on upper Bayou Teche from Leonville to Arnaudville,, in April.

For more information, visit www.tourduteche.com, e-mail info@tourduteche.com or call (337) 394-6232 and ask for Ken.