Through the chilly air, Mika the chihuahua was wrapped in a turkey costume and walked down the makeshift runway at the Charles Gates Dawes House on a silver platter. Moments later, she was announced to be runner-up of the annual Halloween costume competition held by the Evanston Animal Shelter Association.

“This is my third year here,” owner Toni Mansfield chuckled, dressed in a pilgrim costume. “I was very happy that [Evanston] had a costume contest. It has been a while since I’ve done a dog costume contest. I used to do them in New York. ”

Evanstonian dogs and their owners participated in the fifth annual Trick or Treat Trot for Tails Walkathon on October 26. Organized by the Evanston Animal Shelter Association in collaboration with the Evanston History Center, Trots for Tails included a preliminary fundraiser, a walk around the neighborhood, and a costume competition.

Through fundraising for Trots for Tails, the shelter has raised $32,000 this year, exceeding their initial goal of $30,000. The shelter reported that nearly 70% of monetary donations raised go directly to cover medical bills and training costs for the animals. Vicky Pasenko, co-president of the animal shelter, confirmed that this was why fundraising events like this are so integral to their cause.

“Our adoption fee is $150,” she said. “If we’re lucky, that kind of covers the cost, but rarely, so we need to raise money to cover the medical cost.”

Although the shelter remains a small venue with a limited budget, they aim to discover ways to become a bigger operation for the community, according to Shelter Support Specialist Natan Lipton-Lubet.

“People are amazing, they donate beds and food and treats and leashes,” Lipton-Lubet said, “but there’s a lot of stuff that they don’t donate because they can’t, like medications, vaccines.”

Apart from taking care of their existing animals, the Evanston Animal Shelter Association looks to grow community programs such as the foster program, which allows members of the community to take in older pets with chronic illnesses and give them a loving home instead of euthanization. Lipton-Lubet recounted one of his favorite adoption stories: a cat named Tinker-Taylor with paralysis in her back legs and no control of her bladder who was adopted and given a home.

“I think it really exemplifies what we do,” he said. “We just don’t give up, until it’s better for the animal that we do.”