PUPS ON PARADE AT DOG SHOW TO RALLY SUPPORT FOR NONPROFIT
PHOTOS BY DALLAS GOINS
For Robinson’s Rescue, the dog show is the centerpiece of Best in Sheaux. Best in Sheaux, the nonprofit’s signature fundraiser, will be held 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at RiverView Hall. Tickets for the cocktail attire event are $75. A dinner buffet and cash bar will be provided by Wine Country Bistro, and a DJ will keep the festivities going with music. After the dog show, attendees will have the opportunity to pay $5 per vote to choose the evening’s Best in Sheaux pup. There will also be a silent auction and raffle.
“It’s always been our dream to incorporate [a live dog show] into the event. And we have taken it up a notch by moving it to RiverView Hall,” Candy Peavy, chairperson of the board for Robinson’s Rescue and cochair for the Best in Sheaux, said.
Robinson’s Rescue is Louisiana’s first low-cost spay and neuter clinic, and in December, the team at Robinson’s Rescue celebrated its 25,000th spay/neuter surgery. With this milestone passing, president and veterinarian Dr. Andrea Everson said Robinson’s Rescue is making their goal of ending euthanasia in Northwest Louisiana.
“We work with about 14 local shelters, and provide discounted spay and neuter services for them. It’s a hand-in-hand process. Through a spay/neuter and adoption program we really are working to reduce euthanasia in the area,” Everson said. “We also work strategically with Caddo Parish Animal Shelter and the Caddo Commission in bringing programs for people that qualify through the Subsidized Spay Neuter Incentive Program, and we are able to provide a free spay or neuter surgery for people who qualify.”
Though they do not shelter animals at the clinic, Robinson’s Rescue does play a key part in the adoption process, even after the surgery is complete.
“We get to see all the best of the best of our shelter animals in the area. I personally take photos of every animal we see and post them on Facebook – social media for adoptions has been wonderful in the past few years,” Everson said.
Fundraising and spreading awareness are keys to the success of Robinson’s Rescue’s mission, Everson said.
“Through Best in Sheaux, we are able to educate our donors. We are very fortunate to have the community’s support. Anything we fundraise through Best in Sheaux goes directly into the spay/neuter process,” Everson said. “It is very costly to run such a high quality shelter, and to do that amount of surgery – the anesthesia, the equipment, the staffing adds up very quickly. We are very fortunate to be able to do it for such a low cost, and that is because we are able to fundraise in this community. We aren’t a competition to local vets, we are an asset.”
Best in Sheaux event co-chair Audra Muslow is in her second year working with Robinson’s Rescue on the fundraiser. “The 2013 event was a huge success – so much so that we outgrew our venue, which is a great problem for any nonprofit to have when it pertains to their event. It shows that people are interested in the mission of your agency. We’ve received a really incredible response from the community,” Muslow said. “In planning this year’s event, we were put on to an organization in Alabama by Providence House, and they hold a dog ball. After speaking with them, we decided that this is what we wanted to do – have a dog show, make it cocktail attire, fabulous food, music, cocktails and a wonderful auction,” she said.
Muslow said this dog show will feature 15 dogs and Everson has put together a group of handlers to escort.
“The dogs in the show are friends of Robinson’s Rescue as well as one shelter pup from the Caddo Parish Animal Shelter, who will represent all dogs that are currently in shelters waiting to be adopted,” she added.
Everson is equally excited about the addition of the live dog show to the event. “The winner of the Best in Sheaux event gets a spot in our 2015 calendar and some additional prizes,” she said. There is also a 2014 Robinson’s Rescue calendar. “The calendar is available in local stores and at Robinson’s Rescue. We use it for fundraising and to promote our events throughout the year,” Everson said.
Best in Sheaux will also offer items for raffle. Tickets are $10 each. Prizes include gift certificates to Lewis’ Gifts, Mrs. McGregor’s Garden, Just for Fido and a Simon Sebbag bracelet from Debruhl’s. The silent auction will have several items to choose from including New Orleans Saints tickets, LSU tickets, jewelry, and of course dog items and animal art.
Everson sums up the goal of the Best in Sheaux events.
“We are really wanting to show to the community that, ‘Wow, look at these awesome lives that these dogs live.’ Let’s make this possible for every shelter animal. Let’s end euthanasia. Let’s really get to the bottom of this problem,” she said. “It’s known across the country that the euthanasia rate in Louisiana is extremely high. We have a lot of work to do. There’s a lot going on, but there’s always more to do.”
Peavy said she has been involved with the organization since its inception.
“So many people in the community aren’t aware of the large numbers of animals that are euthanized each month. There’s a huge need for our mission,” she said.
Success Stories In their quest to eliminate euthanasia in Northwest Louisiana, Robinson’s Rescue has been part of more than a few adoption success stories. Dr. Andrea Everson shares three of the thousands of connections they have helped make possible:
“Mr. and Mrs. James Humphrey live out by Vivian, and they have four dogs of their own, and then someone dumped a mom and her five puppies on their property. The Humphreys used our SSNIP program funded by the Caddo Parish Commission, which is an amazing program that provides free spays/neuters and rabies vaccines at the time of surgery. They brought all the puppies in to have surgery (including Tiger) and then they took them home.”
“Pippa and Harry were adopted by Edward Nader who owns Nader’s Gallery. They came from Caddo Parish Animal Shelter, but the neat thing about that is he saw them on Facebook, called us, and we were able to connect him with those dogs. They were an owner surrender from the same family so they were able to stay together too.”
“Grandma Cat is owned by Mark Manno, and she’s a great example of adopting an elderly pet and how they make excellent companions. She came through from Caddo Parish Animal Shelter and we spayed her and fostered her for a little bit until she found her perfect home. She’s been very happy and has a wonderful life now. So many people lean toward kittens or puppies, but sometimes the best fit is an elderly animal.” •
