Weather leads Pet Friends to move Champagne and Chocolates
event
With weeks to go to their Feb. 13 Champagne and Chocolates
fundraiser, Pet Friends has had to deal with some rain on their
parade
– actually a whole bunch of it.
Weather leads Pet Friends to move Champagne and Chocolates event
With weeks to go to their Feb. 13 Champagne and Chocolates fundraiser, Pet Friends has had to deal with some rain on their parade – actually a whole bunch of it.
The nonprofit animal rescue group and shelter had planned to host its first Valentine’s Day fundraiser at Windhaven Ranch in San Juan Bautista, until they realized the field where guests were expected to park was under water due to the recent spate of storms. With nowhere for guests to park and some other complications at the site, Jack Scutchall, a Pet Friends board member, said they made the decision Jan. 29 to move to a new venue. The Champagne and Chocolates fundraiser will now be at Bolado Park, Feb. 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“We’ve got about two weeks to get the word out,” Scutchall said. “The [Fairground staff] gave it to us at the same price. $1,200.”
Scutchall stressed that the change of venue was not taken lightly.
“Especially after you have been selling tickets for a month with directions and maps,” he said.
Other than the major issue of having to change the venue at the last minute, the Pet Friends board members said all the other planning for the fundraiser has been fine. The event is $50 for couples, $30 for individuals and all proceeds will benefit the establishment of a low-cost spay and neuter clinic at Pet Friends.
Construction on the clinic has already started with fundraising efforts from last year.
“I had initially budgeted $60,000 and as of today, we have $49,000,” said Scutchall, the chairman of the spay and neuter committee and vice president of Pet Friends. “We can get everything in place with probably $55,000, but we have to have money to continue to operate.”
Members are hoping the Valentine’s weekend fundraiser will close the gap for them. The idea for a champagne and chocolate fundraiser came about when member Ray Sanchez suggested it. Guests will receive two glasses of champagne, with more for purchase, and their pick of chocolate desserts from a 100-foot dessert table. Don Klein, who founded Pet Friends with his wife, said the 100 feet of treats was his idea.
“I visited a hotel in Seattle with my wife and granddaughter and they had a 100-foot dessert table,” he said. “That was a terribly awesome bit to see all that for a German farm boy. I thought maybe it would be an attraction to have a 100-foot table of chocolate desserts to go with the champagne.”
Scutchall said the desserts will include items from local bakers and caterers, homemade fare and perhaps, even a few store-bought items. Those interested in providing a dessert can contact Pet Friends, and are asked to make enough for 24-36 guests, and to deliver the items between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to Bolado Park. Recipes can also be included with the name of the donor.
“I know my wife’s making stuff, but if it were me I’d be at Safeway,” Scutchall said.
In addition to the desserts, there will be a silent auction and raffle prizes. Apple cider and bottled water will also be available.
The event is all in support of the spay and neuter clinic, which Scutchall and Klein both claim as a pet cause.
“San Benito County needs a low-cost spay and neuter center and it’s got to go somewhere,” Klein said. “We had hoped the county would take it on, because they have deeper pockets and a variety of facilities. But we never got any encouragement or support. We decided we were going to do it.”
Pet Friends currently gives out vouchers for spay and neutering that pet owners can take to other veterinary clinics in the community. Scutchall estimated that they gave out more than 300 vouchers last year, of which Pet Friends paid the full cost.
“We still issue certificates because we are modeling ourselves after St. Francis (in San Martin), which does a great job,” he said.
But the goal is that with a facility of their own, they will be able to spay and neuter more animals and offer other services as well.
“The spay and neuter will in no way support the facility,” Scutchall said. “But we are looking at the same time of doing vaccinations and things we can charge for and make money that way.”
He said they will do health checks on the animals and even offer teeth cleaning.
Klein spoke enthusiastically about the spay and neuter clinic last week as construction on it could be heard in the background.
“It is a commitment that the board and personnel have made to the animals of San Benito County,” he said. “What we are trying to do is encourage people to get their animals fixed so we don’t have the amount of homelessness and abandonment that we are facing right now.”
Klein said he is sure there is a need for the low-cost clinic, and he said the project it is expected to open in late June or early July.
“We’ve already had people call to make appointments. We just want as many animals in the county as we can get spayed or neutered so we don’t have this proliferation of unwanted critters,” he said. “It seems we’ve waited way too long and the sooner we can get it going, the better we are.”
