It’s a lot like Relay for Life, only it involves your favorite furry friend.

Bark for Life is a chance to raise money for cancer and walk with your dog on the Orcas School football field. There will be food, music, and more. The event is scheduled for July 17.

Bark For Life is an opportunity to recognize our canine counterparts as companions, caregivers, cancer patients, and special family members.

Orcas Island won’t have its own Relay event this year. Instead, teams from Orcas can participate in the Friday Harbor walk, which is scheduled for July 24 to 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 11 a.m., on the Friday Harbor High School football field.

Relay for Life is held in thousands of communities across the United States, and thanks in part to funds raised by the events, the American Cancer Society has about $500 million in research grants in effect today.

The result of those research dollars? The American Cancer Society has about $4 billion in research for a cure. In 1946, 25 percent of cancer patients lived at least five years after diagnosis; today, that rate is 60 percent.

Relay teams are comprised of former and current cancer patients, those who have lost a loved one to cancer, as well as families, businesses and civic organizations.

Teams collect donations and can win individual and team prizes for their efforts. Many participants camp at the Relay site and, when they are not taking their turn walking, take part in fun activities and enjoy local entertainment.

Taryn Somers with the American Cancer Society is hosting an open house about the county-wide Relay walk and Bark for Life on Friday, April 23 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Orcas Library. There will be refreshments, information about the event, and a chance to sign up teams and be a team captain or sponsor.

For more information, call Somers at 425-308-7488 or Taryn.Somers@cancer.org.

To sign up for Bark for Life before the open house, stop by Aesthetica or Pawki’s in Eastsound.