After two weeks and six games on the road, the San Antonio Rampage will return home Saturday, March 22, to face the Chicago Wolves — with a howling audience there to watch.

The Pedigree Pucks and Paws Night at the AT&T Center will mark the first time a professional sporting event in San Antonio allows dogs to attend.

Proceeds from the pet admissions, as well as a portion of regular lower-level admissions, will be donated to OwnUp SA's No Kill 2012 initiative, which aims to lower the number of San Antonio's homeless animals that are euthanized.

The OwnUp SA initiative was launched March 7 as a partnership between the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Area Foundation. The Pucks and Paws Night will be the first event of its kind to benefit the cause and is designed to bring together a wide spectrum of pet lovers, as well as hockey fans.

“We'll have ample volunteers to help clean up around the dogs,” said Tobin Ernst, media services manager of the San Antonio Rampage. “We also have designated areas for the dogs to relieve themselves.”
The volunteers come from various groups and animal shelters, Ernst said.

“Basically, (they're) people that want to help out, that just love being around animals.”

The Paws for Pets Adoption Fair will kick off the event at 5:30 p.m.

The Rampage, who are tied for second place in their division of the American Hockey League's Western Conference, will hit the ice at 7 p.m. Maybe the dogs will distract the Wolves.

Jonathan Munson | 210SA contributor