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| The Sea Dog Crew |
I absolutely LOVE my volunteering! Not only does it make a difference and save lives, but I get to hang out with some amazing people in the process. The volunteers at our rescue are top notch. We all care so much and love what we do. It is always a good time when we get together!
In addition to fostering for Sea Dog Rescue, I am also the Webmaster and the Event & Fundraiser Coordinator. With plenty of help from Paula, Angela, and Ellen (from Greater Coastal Canine), I planned our very first adoption event.
We held our event on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Greater Coastal Canine, which is where Cooper and June go for training. We invited several local shelter and rescue groups to participate, but only one joined us for our event. The group was Forever Home Rescue based in Moyock, NC. Even though we only had two groups, we had plenty of adorable pups available for adoption.
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| These were the super adorable pups that Forever Home Rescue brought! |
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| Puppy pile! |
Sea Dog Rescue brought three of our own pups. We had Topaz, Kacey, and Raegan.
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| Topaz getting some love! |
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| Kacey passed out on her bunny. |
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| Raegan wore her cute vest! |
At the event, we had lots of goodies for sale at our booth to raise money for the rescue. I bought a ton of goodies for my kids and a t-shirt for myself. I love when I can buy fun stuff for a great cause! In addition to the two booths, our event had some demonstrations. Some of Ellen's students did a training demonstration. They did an awesome job! There was also a fly ball demonstration. It was my first time seeing one done, and it was so cool!
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| Fly ball! |
We even had a former Sea Dog come to visit. It was so nice to see Dottie with her forever family. She certainly was one lucky pup!
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| Thank you for saving me, Miss Paula! |
We all had a great day. Topaz and Kacey became fast friends and enjoyed some play time and some super sweet snuggle time.
For our first event, things went rather well. I definitely learned a lot. I know some things we should do better next time and some things we should add or omit. I most certainly learned that you cannot control the weather. It rained off and on all day, but we still had a wonderful day.
We didn't get any adoption applications from the event, but Forever Home Rescue did! I was so excited to hear that our event may have landed one precious pup in their forever home. Sea Dog Rescue did, however, sell some goodies, receive some donations, and get our name out there. It was all around a successful day. I can't wait for our next event!
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What do you like to see at adoption events? I would love to hear some ideas we could use at our next event to help our pups get adopted :)
Sounds like a great first event...You'll learn something more from every one you hold and even if a pup doesn't get adopted that day it's still great socialization
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gizmo! It was a great day. And you are very right. The pups got in a ton of socialization :)
DeleteA kissing booth like Lucy's in Peanuts. You can charge a dollar for each doggy kiss.
ReplyDeleteThat would be cute! I know I would pay a dollar for a doggy kiss :)
DeleteIt sounds like you had a great event, even if you didn't have any adoption apps.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... ideas for next time... I have a few, but here's one...
Raffle prizes... they attract more visitors and your rescue gets to raise more funds (and awareness) in the process. The prizes should be dog-related, of course, to attract dog-lovin' folk, not just the general public. It's always great to have experienced dog parents looking around and it always seems like people who already have dogs are often more likely to adopt.
Thank you for your suggestion! I think a raffle would go over well! I need to research the legal stuff on raffles. I know each state has their own rules regarding them.
DeleteDog people certainly are the best! There is always room for one more dog :)
Thanks, Pam!
Wow that looked like amazing day! I wish things like these could happen in my area!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was a great day! And you never know, maybe you will have your very own event where you live one day. They are tons of fun!
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