T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Residents from all over the Ohio Valley flock to the 2nd annual Rovers on the River presented by Play N Stay Pet Camp as a part of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine.

WHEELING – Pups packed the riverfront for the second annual Rovers on the River presented by Play N Stay Pet Camp as a part of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine.

The approximately 1.5-mile course, put together by Play N Stay Pet Camp, included obstacles and a stretch of walking along the Ohio River. The non-competitive event was created last year to celebrate pets and enjoy the outdoors.

Owners of all ages and their dogs slowly filed onto a stretch of sidewalk near Heritage Port on Saturday morning. Some owners had previously finished the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic or 5K presented by Bordas & Bordas before meeting up with their dogs for Rovers on the River.

Despite the event not being competitive, 2026 Miss Ohio Valley Emma Griffith joked that she and her dog Louie were going to win.

She laughed that it wasn’t due to her grit and dedication but because her dog is incredibly hyper, as it tried to run away multiple times during her explaining why they would “come in first.”

“I volunteered and gave out medals the past several years,” Griffith said. “[Race Director Joe Lovell] asked me to be a part of it, which has been a lot of fun, and then they added this event last year, and I had a senior dog last year that I adopted.

“He was very well mannered around people, and so we did it, and we won,” she continued. “I know it’s not competitive, the dog run, but we came in first because he sprinted the whole way. He unfortunately passed, he had some dementia, so I’m bringing my younger boy out here. I’ve had Louie since September, so we’ll see how this goes.”

Just like her previous entry, and as she predicted, Louie sprinted the entire course and left the other dogs in his dust.

Participants received a pet medal and dog bandanna, bags, tennis balls and treats provided by Bully Max. A portion of the proceeds from the event were donated to the Belmont County County Animal Shelter.

Griffith said that supporting the local animal shelter is what the deciding factor of her being involved with the event.

“All of my pets growing up were either strays or shelter animals, and I think that these pets have a lot of love to give, and it’s really important to support local shelters,” Griffith said. “I buy and sell things online for a living, but when I go out and find things, I always have in the back of my mind a mental list of things like what the shelters and other nonprofits around here need. Because there’s stuff that won’t make me money, but if I can find it at a cheap price and donate it, and the shelters can use it, that’s super important to me.”

Another participant was Megan Potkoski, her daughter Emma Potkoski and their dog Chloe.

Megan said that they did the inaugural event last year, and it was so much fun that they decided to do it again.

“We love taking [Chloe] out for walks, and we’ve done 5K before, so we were glad that they had something for the dogs to be able to do,” Megan Potkoski said. “This is the first one I had ever heard of, was here, so I think it’s the perfect, perfect amount, a little over a mile, and they have the little obstacle course, so it’s good for the dogs.”