2005 The Year in Review
Whew! This year has been a whirlwind for the auxiliary! We have had many fantastic events and have also had great success in selling our cookbook, "Simply Delicious, Recipes for Pets and their People." This spring we added two new venues to our list of Adopt-A-Thons, and both are keepers for sure... Anthem and the Heart to Heart were both successful and memorable events!
The season actually began with a rained-out date for the Unitarian church adoption day. Never in our years have we had a cancellation due to weather, so this disappointment was our first, and hopefully last of its kind. "Yours Truly" did get to speak at the Church on Sunday after the rain date, so there was still an opportunity to educate the congregation about the animal issues at hand... such as overpopulation, the need to spay and neuter, and of course about the wonderful resource available to them thru our site... Pets911.com!
We made up for the adoptions lost with the following events which were all extremely successful...
In February, we enjoyed our first year at Anthem , in partnership with board member and owner of "Ruff Life Dog Day Care", Eileen Proctor, who hosted this event. For a first time venue, we were thrilled with the adoptions and donations brought in for the day. This surely will become a yearly event for us and helps us to serve the West valley.
We proudly announced adoptions of close to 150 animals at the Franciscan Renewal Center this March... A record adoption number for us, and for the animals... We were blessed with beautiful weather and a great crowd. Many wagging tails went to wonderful new loving homes this day... That is what it is all about, for sure.
We embarked on our mission to educate young families having new babies at the AZ KID and BABY EXPO, for the second year... We brought in a variety of groups to hand out educational materials and perform adoptions... the mission is to let young and growing families know that having a baby is no reason to "get rid of the Dog!" We were armed with an abundance of pertinent information, and spoke to hundreds of people over the two-day period.... However, while we found this event rewarding in the educational aspect, we had very few adoptions and decided that this might be best served for future years by AC & C, who can provide all the needed components, without our coordination. Our time can be better served by replacing this with another adoptathon... and so we shall for 2006!
DC RANCH and Heart to Heart followed in April and both were the best events they could be, with adoptions going well, and great donations... Both will be continued into the next year!
We ventured into May with AJ's Fine Foods, hoping the cool weather would stay with us, and it did! Again, a successful adoption event, enjoyed by all, especially the animals going to new homes!
In addition to these larger events, we were present and in support of Trail Trek, hosted by Luv of Dogs, and In the Raw' s Art and Animal day.
The Pets 911 Auxiliary's Bowlarama held on August 6th was everything we had hoped for! AND MORE!
With 55 groups in attendance and a total of $210,000 raised collectively, we were thrilled with our accomplishment. Bowlarama is also a fundraiser for the groups participating so each came away a bit wealthier as a result of this event, and we added to our EMF coffers as well!
Speaking of the EMF... as we complete year two, we are happy to say that 24 groups were assisted this year and close to 24,000 was paid out helping sick and injured animals.
The fund is designed to help the rescue community with animals having emergency or just extraordinary veterinary bills and is a wonderful addition to the community. It is the only service of it's kind in the state of Arizona. We are proud to be able to offer this program to the animals of our rescue community.
Thanks to the financial success of the "Simply Delicious Cookbook" and Bowlarama , our EMF is funded for 2006 and into 2007!
Fall activity included the Franciscan Renewal Center Blessing of the Animals, one of our favorite events. And this year we proudly announced that 200 animals went to their new homes as the day came to a close.
KPMG and AJ's rounded out our fall season with festive and productive events, taking the Auxiliary's total of animals placed this year to a new high... over 550 adoptions!!!
As we finished out the year, my newest book was published, just in time for holiday gifting! Sales of "Ode to Those Who Stand on Four" are adding to our coffers for the EMF! Sales are going great guns. And in just 3 months 350 books have been sold!
To also help the rescue groups at holiday time, Henry's Markets and Pets 911 Auxiliary initiated a food drive for animals helping a number of rescue groups with additional food for those they have in their care... just a final touch to a great year.
Happy 2006 is just ahead!
For The Pets 911 Auxiliary,
Bari Mears
President and Founder
Pets911 Auxiliary Home Page